Inspiring to see govt’s deep focus: Nadella

“Inspiring to see the government’s deep focus on sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” Nadella wrote on LinkedIn, following a meeting with Prime Minister Narenda Modi and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Nadella, who is on a visit to India, also participated in a fireside chat with Infosys non-exective chairman Nandan Nilekani in Bengaluru.

“We are looking forward to helping India realise the Digital India vision and be a light for the world,” he added.

Following the meeting, Modi tweeted, “India’s strides in technology and innovation are ushering in an era of tech-led growth. Our youth is filled with ideas which have the potential to transform the planet.”

Vaishnaw tweeted he “had a good discussion with Satya Nadella on cyber security, India stack, and India’s startup ecosystem.”

Microsoft has conducted multiple programs in partnership with the Indian government. In September 2021, the company partnered with the ministry of labour and employment (MoLE) to launch DigiSaksham—a program that sought to train 10 million people in computing and tech skills.

In August last year, the company partnered with the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) to train 2.5 million civil servants in tech skills.

On Thursday, the company also announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), under which it seeks to help domestic space startups with free cloud tools, and support them to sell their products.

During his tour, Nadella highlighted India’s leadership role in the current technology landscape.

“One of the things that is great to see is India leading in digital public goods. There is India, and then there is daylight, when it comes to the enlightened way in which India is building out digital infrastructure,” he said in an address in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The third chief executive in Microsoft’s 47-year history, Nadella, during his trip, highlighted the role of India in the global tech economy for the coming years. In an interview with Mint on 4 January, he said, “One of the things that give me great optimism for India, quite frankly, is all the different ways in which technology is getting used… India already has the second largest number of developers, and is No.1 on AI repositories, which means Indian developers are seeking out every open-source AI repository and becoming core committers. So, in the long run, there will be a lot more intense use of AI. One of the things that you should talk about, even in India, is the intense use of new technology.”