Microsoft in joint partnership for IT in UP

NEW DELHI: Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd today announced a multi-dimensional partnership with the Government of Uttar Pradesh to help accelerate IT usage in that state.

The strategic areas identified for the partnership include joint efforts for delivering affordable PC purchase options, ushering in e-Governance, accelerating IT literacy and enabling access to technology in rural areas in Uttar Pradesh.

Elaborating on the partnership, Zohra Chatterji, principal secretary — Information Technology, Government of Uttar Pradesh, said: "Our partnership with Microsoft is geared to address important issues like the growing digital divide, enhancing IT literacy by taking high-quality, interactive IT education to government schools in the state and bringing in e-governance. We believe that through effective public-private partnerships like these we can deliver on our objective of becoming the best state in North India on proliferation of Information Technology for our citizens both in terms of quality and quantity.”

Commenting on the partnership, Rohit Kumar, country head, Public Sector, Microsoft, said, “We are delighted to jointly work with the Government of Uttar Pradesh towards achieving our common goal of bridging the digital divide and taking the benefits of IT to the majority. With a thrust on providing affordable and Hindi language based computing solutions, we are confident that this joint collaboration will prove to be a vital step for increasing IT penetration in the state.”

Offering affordable PC purchase options

Under the state Government's People's PC Program Microsoft will partner with Intel, Sahara and HCL to offer PC combo at an attractive EMI of Rs. 425. The PC combo comprises specially configured PC solutions, including both hardware and relevant software. PCs under the program will be available across 15 state districts through the authorized dealer outlets of Sahara and HCL.

Ushering in e-Governance

In its twin role as a Technology Provider and Consultant for e-Governance, Microsoft will collaborate with the state Government for realization of its e-Governance vision. Microsoft will fund and administrate a Center of Excellence for e-Governance applications.

Accelerating IT literacy

Microsoft will work with the Government for the roll-out of Microsoft's Partners-in-Learning Program in the state. The program encompasses Microsoft's flagship India education initiative “Project Shiksha- Empowering the future' as well as two other initiatives namely Fresh Start and School Agreement. With the defining objective of ensuring access and training on the latest computer technologies to students and schoolteachers, Microsoft aims to reach out to over 450,000 students and over 9,000 teachers in Government schools over the three year MoU period.

Enabling technology access in rural areas

Microsoft has signed a MoU with the Government of Uttar Pradesh for roll-out of Microsoft's Project Saksham in the state. Project “Saksham” is a public-private initiative aimed at creating a scalable and self-sustaining kiosk model to take IT to the grass root level. The overall goal of Project “Saksham” is to set-up at least 50,000 ICT kiosks across the country over the next three years.

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