New Delhi: Giving a helping hand to the Government, Microsoft Corporation has offered to provide tools for language-based computing which includes a new multilingual Windows XP Starter Edition among others to address the problem of digital divide in the country.
This collaboration between them came up as part of a strategy aimed at supporting the Ministry of Communication and IT, after a series of discussions that took place this week at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters between the visiting Union IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran and Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corporation.
"The announcements by Microsoft including the launch of a new multilingual Windows XP Starter Edition for India, are steps in the right direction. The various steps announced today (on Sept 21 in Redmond) address important issues like IT literacy, taking high-quality, interactive IT education to schools in India, availability of local language computing solutions and e-governance," said Maran. "There is an urgent need to enable affordable access to locally relevant IT applications at a broad level. I believe that through effective private-government partnerships we can deliver on this objective," he said.
Elaborating on the announcements, Gates said: "We are delighted to be working with Minister Maran towards our common goal of bridging the digital divide for people across India. In particular, I'm excited about the promotion of e-Governance technologies, the expansion of teacher education and broadening our Windows XP Starter Edition for India offering to better meet the needs of Indian citizens."
