M A I N   N E W S

Gates sees India as IT ‘superpower’
From T.V. Lakshminarayan
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 14 — Software czar, Chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, Mr William H. Gates, sees India as an information technology “superpower” where every state, including Punjab and Haryana, is a major market.

In a day of tight appointments, which was rich in content and poor in frills, Mr Bill Gates met representatives of various states, including Chief Ministers Prakash Singh Badal and Om Parkash Chautala, over lunch and said he was “excited” with their response.

The Chief Ministers had well-defined plans for their states in the IT sector, including its use in e-governance, education and other social sectors.

Their enthusiasm in using information technology in government was very encouraging and this was something that “my own government should do”, Mr Gates remarked at a press conference.

He refused to pick his favourite Indian state, saying “we are desirous of tying up with everybody”. There is no state which has not jumped into the IT fray and that makes India a very competitive place, he explained.

Though his meeting with the Chief Ministers was short, representatives of Punjab and Haryana were among those who spelled out their plans to the computer industry icon.

Mr Badal shared his vision on e-governance and his government strategy on IT. The main strategy of the government was accelerated development through private sector participation. As part of its plans to provide web enabled citizen services, Mr Badal said a pilot project in Fatehgarh Sahib was already on and its success would be duplicated in other parts of the country.

Mr Badal proposed that Microsoft should tie up with his government on establishing an e-governance centre for northern India at Chandigarh. He said his government could provide the necessary infrastructure at Mahatma Gandhi Punjab State Institute of Public Administration, Chandigarh.

He said Microsoft could enter into a corporate agreement for the development and deployment of e-governance solutions on Microsoft platforms. He, however, wanted the US company to work out a licensing policy to suit the needs of the state.

Putting up a software development centre of Microsoft at SAS Nagar in Punjab was another proposal put forward by the Punjab Chief Minister.

Mr Chautala conveyed his government plans to go in for e-governance in a big as he felt it would help in eradicating corruption and introducing efficiency in the system.

Inviting Mr Gates to invest in Haryana’s IT sector, the Chief Minister spelt out the advantages of his State. Apart from a good law and order situation, Haryana’s proximity to Indira Gandhi International Airport was one of the talking points.

The Chief Minister later said in a statement that he would develop Gurgaon as a pollution-free district and ensure a round-the-clock power supply for the IT sector.

Mr Gates met the IT Minister, Mr Pramod Mahajan, and discussed government initiatives in taking information technology to the masses.

Mr Gates pledged a $ 5 million aid for rural education and expressed his willingness to join hands with the IT Ministry to undertake Media Labs India Project for developing software for the media.

“Mr Gates has shown a keen interest in the Indian Government’s initiative in taking IT to the masses”, Mr Mahajan said.