Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Wednesday said technology is essential for driving inclusive growth and empowerment in the country, and the company is working towards the same through its Tech for Good initiative.
Nadella, who is on a four-day visit to India, talked about Microsoft’s commitment to the country and highlighted that all its technologies in some sense have ‘Make in India’ touch.
“Microsoft is very committed to India…It (India) is the largest place where we have our own human capital, we have our data centres, all of these artificial intelligence capabilities that are being used in all applications, are all in some sense Made in India,” Nadella said at the Microsoft Tech for Good Showcase in New Delhi.
The statement from Nadella assumes significance given India is a key market for technology firms. Lately, big tech companies such as Google came on the government’s radar for allegedly abusing their dominant position.
During the event, Microsoft also showcased its technology initiatives in the areas of philanthropic work and education such as CyberShikshaa – a programme for skilling female graduates in the field of cybersecurity, AI models for disaster resilience, among other initiatives for inclusive development.
“It is about being able to have all people participate, and leverage each other’s skills, technologies and effort so we can transform our community and society,” Nadella said, adding that it will be through collective efforts from all institutions that inclusive growth can be pushed in the country.
On Tuesday, Nadella said technologies such as cloud and AI are among the imperatives that will foster innovation, create broad economic progress and accelerate the growth of businesses in India. There is tremendous momentum in the adoption of cloud, the technology which is a “big game changer”. It is also the first one that will enable companies to do everything with “a lot less resources”, Nadella said in his address at the Microsoft Future Ready Leadership Summit in Mumbai.
During the week, the Microsoft CEO is also scheduled to visit Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where he will be meeting customers, startups, and key government representatives.