New Microsoft Program to Help Develop the Quantum Computing Workforce of the Future in India

900 faculty from top Indian institutes to be trained

Microsoft is creating a new program to build quantum computing skills and capabilities in the academic community in India.  As part of this initiative, Microsoft Garage is organising a ‘Train the Trainer’ program in collaboration with Electronics and ICT Academies at Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur and National Institute of Technology, Patna. This program will train 900 faculty from Universities and Institutes across India through E& ICT Academies at Institutes of National Importance such as IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee, MNIT Jaipur,  NIT Patna, IIIT-D Jabalpur, and NIT Warangal, equipping academics with the required skills to start building their quantum future.

Quantum computing applies the properties of quantum physics to process information. Quantum computers will enable new discoveries in the areas of healthcare, energy, environmental systems, smart materials, and beyond.  Microsoft is bringing the capabilities to develop for this quantum future, to the cloud with Azure Quantum. Azure Quantum is an open cloud ecosystem enabling developers to access diverse quantum software, hardware, and solutions from Microsoft and its partners. It is built on Azure, a trusted, scalable and secure platform, and will continue to adapt to Microsoft’s rapidly evolving cloud future. Moreover, it delivers the ability to have impact today through quantum inspired solvers running on classical hardware and to explorations on classical hardware using the open source Quantum Development Kit and the Q# programming language.

The quantum training program through the E &ICT Academies, supports an initiative by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) to enhance the skills of the academicians in imparting next level technological skills for future generations. Key themes that will be covered include – an introduction to quantum information, quantum concepts such as superposition and entanglement, processing of information using qubits and quantum gates, as well as an introduction to quantum machine learning and quantum programming. 

Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director, Microsoft India Development Center, and Corporate Vice President, Enterprise+Devices India, said, “India is renowned across the world for its science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computing (STEM+C) workforce, and a tech-capable citizenry. Through this initiative in India, we aim to develop skills in quantum at scale, which has the potential to trigger the new frontier of innovation, shaping the future of the IT industry in this part of the world.”

Inaugurating the program, Ms. Reena Dayal, Director, Microsoft Garage India & Chair for IEEE Quantum SIG, said, “Quantum computing holds the potential to solve some of the most pressing issues our world faces today. Through this program, we aim to equip academia in India with the requisite knowledge to develop a comprehensive quantum learning curriculum in their institutions and help develop these skills among some of the brightest minds in the country.”

The training program will be conducted virtually, from August 24 – Aug 29, 2020. The program will also cover practical coding for participants using Microsoft Q# & Quantum Development Kit.

Speaking on the collaboration, Prof. Udaykumar R Yaragatti, Director, MNIT Jaipur said, “The institute is committed to providing state-of-the-art technologies to students and this collaboration with Microsoft will provide further encouragement to faculty members to explore the different aspects of quantum computing.”

Prof. Pradip K Jain, Director, NIT Patna said, “The COVID situation has given an opportunity for going digital with this program. This partnership will ignite the passion in faculty members who will in turn share the knowledge with their students.” 

About The Microsoft Garage

The Microsoft Garage is a program that drives a culture of experimentation and innovation at Microsoft. They deliver programs and experiences to our employees, customers, and ecosystem that drive collaboration and creativity. Their motto “doers, not talkers” continues to be the core. The Garage attracts people who are passionate about making a difference in the world. Garage India works on Cutting Edge Technologies and actively engages with the Ecosystem in India.

Innovate for Accessible India launched to Harness the Power of Technology to Empower People with Disabilities

• Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation launch the program in partnership with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment; Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology and ERNET.


• The nation-wide innovation challenge to serve as an aggregator of technology-led solutions for empowering people with disabilities

Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation today announced the launch of the Innovate for Accessible India campaign in partnership with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology and ERNET (National Research and Education Network under MeitY).

Innovate for Accessible India is a nation-wide innovation challenge aimed at empowering people with disabilities with the technology and tools required for better integration into society and access to equal opportunities. The campaign will be an aggregator of workable technology solutions developed using Microsoft Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and other technologies that address gaps faced by people with disabilities, especially in acquiring services and support in education, skill building, employment, mobility, rehabilitation and other government services.

The campaign will invite applications from students, citizens and social impact organizations to build customized solutions that address challenges faced by people with disabilities across the 21 officially recognized disabilities. The key areas of focus that developers are encouraged to address include mobility, e-governance and access, education, skilling and livelihood and health. Applicants can send in their ideas to https://iai.nasscomfoundation.org/, on or before April 15, 2020.

Speaking about the launch, Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said, “With over a billion people around the world living with some form of disability, it is critical that we find new ways to use technology to enable everyone to fully participate in the socio-economic environment around us. Innovate for Accessible India presents an amazing opportunity to bring new ideas for building an inclusive future. Using the power of Microsoft Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and other technologies, developers can create products and solutions in the areas of education, skilling, employment, mobility and other citizen services for greater accessibility. We are very excited to partner on this effort and look forward to some ground-breaking ideas.”

The applications will be screened by a jury consisting of top subject matter experts, in cross-city pitch sessions, of which 10 ideas will be selected as the winning innovations. After a six month screening process, finalists will be provided support for another six months to roll out their solutions in the market.

The 10 best solutions that address key challenges faced by people with disabilities will be provided mentoring support by Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation, along with grants to develop and scale their solution. The winning innovations stand to win a grant of INR 10 lakhs each in the established projects category (pilot testing with a group of more than 25 beneficiaries) and a grant of INR 5 lakhs each in the early stage category (working prototype tested by less than 25 people).

Ashok Pamidi, CEO - NASSCOM Foundation, said, "We may soon be able to replace braille dots with electrostatic charges allowing the visually impaired to use touch screen smartphones; facial recognition software coupled with home assistants may now help reveal who else is in the room; sounds and vibrations may be used to tell if there is danger ahead and with IoT, the objects may soon be able to describe themselves. We are living in exciting times where innovative technology solutions can finally make the world better for persons with disabilities. With Innovate for an Accessible India, we hope to capture all possible tech-based innovations that can make the lives of people with disabilities easier. We are grateful to Microsoft to provide an opportunity to all innovators working in the accessibility space to scale up their solutions using grants and mentorship and are thankful to Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dept. of Technology and ERNET to support this initiative wholeheartedly."

Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Shakuntala Doley Gamlin, Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, said, “In line with the Accessible India campaign, which is a flagship programme of the Department launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister as a nation-wide campaign for achieving universal accessibility for persons with disabilities, with a vision to build an inclusive society in which equal opportunities are provided for the growth and development of persons with disabilities so that they can lead a productive, safe and dignified life, the Ministry will provide guidance and awareness to the program to keep it aligned to the disability policy framework and the department’s vision to empower persons with disabilities with equal access and opportunity."

Dr. Neeraj Sharma, Advisor and Head, NEB Division, Department of Science and Technology, MST, said, “DST has been supporting public-private partnership programs on idea scouting and start-up promotion. Programs like IAI strike a deep chord with us given our role in promoting science and technology to develop solutions, products and services to address challenges faced by the masses. The IAI program will offer workable solutions that can address problems faced by the differently abled and help in acquiring services and support in the areas of education, skill building, employment, mobility, rehabilitation etc. The program will integrate entrepreneurship, business thinking, design thinking, mentoring and other support activities to address challenges and have affordable and sustainable solutions."

Smt. Geeta Kathpalia, Director General, Education and Research Network (ERNET), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY), said, “The most important element for the success of any program is ownership and acceptance of the cause. ERNET owns the program for working solutions for accessibility. Accurate research and access to information are critical when developing any good solution. We, at ERNET, will help consult, select and mentor the Innovate for Accessible India finalists as well as provide the much needed research support and guidance. Additionally, we will also help spread the message and crowd source innovations amongst our extensive network."

About Microsoft India

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 11,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian start-ups, businesses, and government organizations.

Older PCs can Double Productivity Losses of SMBs in India - Microsoft study

• PCs that are over 4 years old have 3.2X likely chance to be repaired resulting in 132 hours of productive time lost which is 2.2X of newer PCs 


• SMBs keen to make the shift to Windows 10 for elevating business growth, improving workforce productivity and reducing operational costs

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India with PCs that are more than four years old and running older operating systems can experience more than double productivity losses as compared to newer PCs. Not just work efficiencies, older PCs expose organizations to security vulnerabilities and IT threats. Nearly 43% SMBs still own PCs that are more than four years old and are running older operating systems.

These findings were revealed in the latest Microsoft study in partnership with global SMB IT market research and analyst organization TechAisle, which polled almost 2,000 SMBs across Asia Pacific.



SMBs that have already embraced modern workplace strategy have experienced higher productivity, reduced costs, and enhanced security. 95% of the SMBs surveyed agreed that adopting new PCs has reduced overall maintenance costs and 83% of them has seen higher productivity benefits.



Farhana Haque, Group Director – Devices, Microsoft India said, “Technology can be a real enabler for businesses, both small and large, and SMBs need to recognise the value that IT investment can bring to their present and future growth. SMBs employ over 110 million people in India, significantly contributing to India’s economic growth. Microsoft is helping SMBs in India realise their ambitions and succeed in this competitive marketplace.”

According to the study, the continued delay in SMBs’ adoption of newer technological infrastructure across business functions, was due to factors such as perceived app incompatibility and high costs associated with acquiring and maintaining new IT hardware and software. Nearly two-thirds of SMBs surveyed (66%) said they did not have a PC refresh policy nor were they actively pursuing it.

However, the reality is that the lack of a strategic PC refresh policy can result in greater repercussions in the long run. There is a 3.8 times higher chance of old PCs requiring repairs, which can result in at least 132 hours’ worth of productive time lost. 

Ways to narrow the technology adoption gap include cloud adoption and Windows-as-a-Service. SMBs can refresh their older PCs as Windows-as-a-Service provides security patches and regular OS updates for optimized use. Concerns over app compatibility are addressed with Windows 10, the most app-compatible version of Windows-to-date with best practices including app telemetry, ISV partnerships for diagnostic data and troubleshooting as well as looping feedback cycles.  With the upcoming Windows 7 End of Support, SMBs have to make their shift towards newer PCs and operating systems as users will no longer receive security updates or support for PCs running on Windows 7. This includes new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options, and online technical content updates. 

For Windows 10, Micrcosoft Launches Smart Phonetic Keyboards for 10 Indian languages

As part of its efforts to personalize technology and make it accessible for everyone, Microsoft has announced the release of smart Phonetic keyboards (Virtual) for 10 Indian languages in its May 2019 update (19H1) for Windows 10. The updated virtual keyboard learns from the behavior patterns and preferences of the user and accordingly offers individualized word suggestions in Indian languages, enhancing and improving accuracy of text input. Since these keyboards are based on natural pronunciation, users don’t need to separately learn to use them and simply start using them immediately.

The release of the updated phonetic keyboards is available in Hindi, Bangla, Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages, which is a significant step towards making computing language-agnostic and more inclusive in India. The keyboards now allow Indian users to work in their native/preferred languages unlike before when many of them had to purchase customized Indic hardware keyboards or stickers. This has made it simple for users to input transliterated Indic text using the existing keyboards which traditionally have Latin characters inscribed on them. Transliteration, unlike translation, automatically converts text from one script to another. For instance, if we type ‘Bharat’ in Latin characters, the Phonetic keyboard will transliterate final output to भारत (Hindi), ভারত (Bengali), ભારત (Gujarati) or ਭਾਰਤ (Punjabi) depending on the target language.

The new tools will not only help in making computing inclusive they are also expected to improve typing speed and accuracy in Indian languages by at least 20%. Moreover, they make many regional symbols (like the Indian numerals) easier to input.

Prior to this update, Indic users were required to download Microsoft Indic Language Input Tool (ILIT) from the company’s Indic community website ‘Bhashaindia.com’ or a third-party tool. There are many other utilities from Microsoft (including Indic Input 1, Indic Input 2 and Indic Input 3) for Phonetic text input in Indian languages. The new update which now comes integrated into the operating system nullifies the need to download and install any external tools, known as Input Method Editors (IMEs). Here are a few other benefits the update will offer to users:

1. As most users are not aware of the availability of external IMEs for Phonetic Indic text input, the Phonetic keyboards’ integration with the operating system will make them better


2. Since no separate installation is required, they can be used in areas with low/no internet connectivity.


3. Unlike the installed tools, constant upgradation will not be required anymore, but will be part of the Windows updates.

Updating & using Indic Phonetic keyboards:

While the updated keyboards have automatically been made available with the recent Windows 10 update (19H1), the users who have not updated their operating system may get the latest update by following simple steps: Go to Settings> Updates & Security> Windows Update. Once the update is installed, they can activate the Phonetic keyboards by going to Language settings.

The new keyboards are in addition to the Indic Inscript keyboard already available with Windows. Inscript, the official Indian keyboard standard for Indian languages, has been supported on all versions of the operating system starting with Windows 2000. It remains the default keyboard for Indic languages except for Tamil, which has Tamil 99 as the default keyboard instead.

New Phonetic keyboard layouts will work with any Unicode enabled applications and web browsers (including Edge) running over the Widows 10 operating system. Unicode is a common text encoding standard used for most languages of the world.

Microsoft and Local Language Computing: Microsoft has been consistently working to provide local language computing in Indian languages for over two decades since the launch of Project Bhasha in 1998, allowing users to input localized text easily and quickly using the Indian Language Input tool. Microsoft is also leveraging AI and Deep Neural Networks to improve real-time language translation for Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and also provides real-time language translation for Telugu and Urdu. Microsoft also announced support for email addresses in multiple Indian languages across most of its email apps and services. Through its global Local Language Program (LLP), Microsoft provides people access to technology in their native language. This includes Language Interface Packs for Indian languages like Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam, amongst others.

Microsoft Launches AI Labs in 10 Indian Educational Institutes

Microsoft has announced yesterday the launch of 'AI Digital Labs' in collaboration with 10 higher educational institutions in the country and with this Microsoft aims to skill nearly 150,000 students for a future-ready workforce.

www.indianweb2.com first reported about this initiative in January this year.

These AI Labs will conduct a 3-year program in which Microsoft will support the selected institutions with best-in-class infrastructure, curriculum and content, access to cloud and AI services as well as developer support.

Microsoft will facilitate setting up of core AI infrastructure and IoT Hub as well as provide access to a wide range of AI developmental tools and Azure AI Services such as Microsoft Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning and Bot Services. Training programs for faculty will include workshops on cloud computing, data sciences, AI and IoT.

In addition, the faculty of these institutes will receive assistance in strategizing content and syllabus for project-based and experiential learning.

The educational institutes covered under this program include BITS Pilani, BML Munjal University, ISB, Kalpataru Institute of Technology, KL University, Periyar University, Karunya University, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, SVKM (NMIMS) and Trident Academy of Technology.

With the edge of the Intelligent Cloud Hub program, these institutions will emerge as learning centers of intelligent technologies and innovation hubs of path-breaking solutions.

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligent technologies are becoming all-pervasive today, driving change across businesses and communities. The evolution of AI and other emerging technologies is expected to create new jobs. Workers at all levels of organizations will need to be skilled for these jobs. These shifts in the talent landscape will require new ways of thinking about skills and training to ensure that the new workforce is prepared for the future and there is sufficient talent available for critical jobs," said the company announcement.

A recent Microsoft and IDC Asia/Pacific study named ‘Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through AI’ said that lack of skills, resources and continuous learning programs emerged as one of the top challenges faced by Indian organizations in adopting AI to accelerate their businesses.

[caption id="attachment_131208" align="aligncenter" width="300"] From left to right: Dr. Nandeeshaiah, Principal, Kalpataru Institute of Technology; Dr. R.N. Satpathy, Executive Director, Trident Academy of Technology; Joyjit Roy Ghatak Choudhury, Director- Information Technology & Knowledge Management, SRM Institute of Science and Technology; Krishnan Subramanian, Director, Digital Learning, BITS Pilani; Dr. Manoj K. Arora, Vice-Chancellor, BML Munjal University; Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India; Dr. P. Mannar Jawahar, Vice-Chancellor, Karunya University; Abhay Karhade, Advisor to President, SVKM & Chancellor NMIMS University for IT Services; Dr. Hari Kiran Vege, Head of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and Associate Dean Academics, KL University and Dr. V. Natarajan Head, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Periyar University[/caption]

Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said in a statement, "As AI becomes mainstream, organizations will require talent with skillsets that are very different from what exist now. Educators and institutions are integral to the skilling revolution taking root in the country. With the right technology infrastructure, curriculum and training, we can empower today’s students to build the India of tomorrow."

Microsoft and its entities in India have over 9,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian start-ups, businesses, and government organizations.

Last month, Microsoft held a 5-day specially curated online Artificial Intelligence (AI) program, which was aimed at enabling the developer community and workforce across organizations in India to harness the power of AI.

Last October, Microsoft collaborated with Spektacom Technologies, a tech startup founded by former Indian national cricket team captain Anil Kumble, to launch an AI & IoT-enabled ‘Power Bat’, a cricket bat that provides players, coaches, commentators, fans and viewers with a new and unique way to engage with the sport and help improve their game. The bat is powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform using AI and Internet of Things (IoT) services.

In 2016, Microsoft opened one of its eight Cybersecurity Engagement Centers in the country, to address security needs of both public and private sectors.

Microsoft Launches E-Commerce Platform for Handloom Weavers to Sell Online

Microsoft India yesterday announced the launch of a new e-commerce platform re-weave.in, for handloom weavers under its Project ReWeave, part of its Philanthropies initiative. This e-commerce platform will help connect artisans to the buyers directly enabling them to expand to newer customers and markets.

The new e-commerce website hosts signature collections created by the weaver communities, showcase traditional designs and products created from natural dyes. This e-market place will help sell to a broad set of customers, supporting weavers increase their income and earning a sustainable livelihood while also reviving traditional forgotten Indian art.

Microsoft in association with National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) has also curated a special curriculum in ‘CAD and Color for Handloom Weaving’ to provide digital training in handloom design.

Today, at a special ceremony hosted at NIFT, the first batch of 100 handloom weavers were awarded certificates for successful design course completion. Since its inception, special emphasis has been put on skill development using ICT and digital tools in critical aspects such as upskilling, design, marketing, and entrepreneurship, besides creating sustainable livelihood options through Project Sangam, a Microsoft Azure-based Community Training Platform.

Digital empowerment centers have been steadily expanding to more weaver clusters – Microsoft inaugurated two new digital empowerment centers in Rajoli, Choutuppal and will open another center shortly in Warangal and Siddipet clusters. The clusters of Pochampally, Gadwal and Narayanpet have been operational for some time now.

[tnm_video layout="mnmd-post-media"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2rga5OwUcQ[/tnm_video]

Speaking at the event, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & IT, Telangana said, “Digital technology is changing lives of Indians across every section of society. Working with global technology leaders like Microsoft has enabled us to bring technology to the doorsteps of our large weaver communities in the remotest districts of Telangana. These initiatives like ecommerce marketplace and design training will enable weaver communities to sustain themselves and provide livelihood to artisans. This also is a practical solution to motivate younger generation of weavers to continue with their traditions and not divert into other professions”

Speaking about the initiative, Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) said, “With the introduction of our new e-commerce platform, digital empowerment centers and the new design curriculum, the weavers will be able to build on the rich handloom heritage of India and also reach out to a wider customer base. ReWeave ties very well into Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organization in the communities we work in by using Project Sangam- our Azure based technology solution and expertise to democratize opportunities and bridge the digital divide.

Chitra Sood, Director, Business Management, Microsoft India (R&D) said, “The Indian handloom industry is the second-largest employment provider for rural population in India with almost 43 lakh weavers. Through ReWeave, we have extended support to handloom weavers and their families to optimize their operations, engage better with their customers and helping them transform their wares. These initial efforts have helped see a substantial rise in the annual income of the weavers in the three weaver clusters.”

Project ReWeave also aims to help the weavers with working capital support through non-profit organizations. Weavers are trained in the use of natural dyes to enable them to make newer and sustainable handwoven products to meet the demands of the socially and environmentally aware consumer.

Source - Microsoft News Center | Top Featured Image - Microsoft.com

SRL Diagnostics Brings Microsoft’s AI Network To Its 350+ Diagnostics Centers in India

SRL Diagnostics, a diagnostic company based out in Mohali, Punjab providing diagnostic services in pathology and radiology, has partnered with Microsoft India to expand the later's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Network for Healthcare to pathology, announced Microsoft.

This collaboration will help improve the quality of digital pathology for population screening by bringing together Microsoft’s Azure and AI innovations along with SRL’s world-class expertise in the study of cells and tissues (histology). With this addition, Microsoft’s AI Network for Healthcare has now expanded to include pathology along with eyecare and cardiology, thus representing the continued efforts made by the organisation to democratize healthcare.

SRL Diagnostics has 378 networking laboratories; 24 radiology/imaging centres; 40 NABL-accredited labs; 4 CAP-accredited labs; and a footprint spanning more than 6600 collection points. The company has large labs in Dubai, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and about 70 collection points in various countries outside India. T

Growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer is one of the key factors for the need for pathology to transform. Digital pathology is increasingly being preferred as it has helped bring improvement in service delivery, patient safety and communications while reducing errors and lowering costs. Histopathology is a specialized form of pathology for analyzing tissue biopsies (mounted on glass slides) and is used for detecting numerous diseases. Histopathologists require highly efficient tools to assist in diagnosis, thus augmenting the demand for automated and innovative implementation of cloud and AI.

Commenting on the partnership Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Private Limited, said, “Microsoft is committed to empower both the healthcare industry and patients by using AI to democratize healthcare for all. Our partnership with SRL Diagnostics will assist pathologists by equipping them with technology that will augment their capability. This is the third area where we have expanded our AI Network for Healthcare after eyecare and cardiology. We will continue to look for other areas where we can deploy technology to make healthcare more accessible.”

Commenting on the partnership Arindam Haldar, Chief Executive Officer, SRL Diagnostics said, “In line with SRL’s vision to help people on their path to better health, we are delighted to be partnering with Microsoft to co-create solutions and generate both social and business value. Diagnosis is the first step to disease management, as without accurate identification of the cause there is no possibility of a precise treatment. With the growing number of samples of cancer, as well as of other diseases, there’s a need to quickly and accurately analyze the samples to help doctors arrive at a diagnosis faster. The AI platform that Microsoft will build in collaboration with SRL is expected to create a software environment infused with millions of data points and knowledge gained from SRL’s expert laboratory professionals.”

Microsoft AI Network for Healthcare aims to maximize the ability of AI and cloud computing to accelerate innovation in the healthcare industry and improve the lives of people around the world. By working side-by-side with the healthcare industry’s pioneering players, Microsoft is bringing its capabilities and applying AI to devices for early detection of diabetic retinopathy to prevent blindness. Microsoft has also recently launched an AI-powered Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score API for Indian population.

As the largest diagnostic laboratory in the country, SRL Diagnostics has a repository of more than a million histopathology slides which would be used for training an AI algorithm. By increasing efficiency in the initial steps in a biopsy tissue analysis through artificial neural networks, it will be possible for a histopathology laboratory to cut down on inadvertent manual errors and process more samples in a day with higher level of accuracy.

Of late, India has proved that it is fast picking up pace in adopting emerging technologies like AI, blockchain and IoT in healthcare. Last month, in order to curb counterfeit medical products and drugs in specific, NITI Aayog, a government of India think tank, has partnered with the technology giant Oracle and Apollo Hospitals, where Oracle will integrate its blockchain technology and a distributed ledger solution in pharmaceutical supply chain, which will create records that are unchangeable for each pharma transaction.

[Top Image - Qeprize.org]

Microsoft to Encrypt and Digitally Distribute CBSE Exam Papers; May Use Aadhaar Authentication

In March this year, national level board of education in India, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), came under severe attack from students across the country when the economics paper of the Class XII and math paper of Class X were leaked in March and a re-examination was ordered.

Back then, a seven-member committee was formed who then recommended a number of measures to prevent paper leaks and the human resource development (HRD) ministry of India studied the suggestions. CBSE also announced that it is contemplating to stop printing question papers at their end and instead send paper CDs to the exam centres, just an hour before the exam.

Now, in an outcome above series of events, CBSE has partnered with Microsoft India to digitally encrypt question papers for Class X and XII examinations to enhance security and seamless distribution of the papers. The entire process can be digitally monitored using a software solution that’s built on Windows 10 and Office 365.

CBSE will use Office 365 to add two-layered security to question papers and digitally distribute them across examination centers. Office 365 is a line of subscription services offered by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft Office product line in its Windows operating system.

Interestingly, Aadhaar identification system, which itself is in continuous doubts and scrutiny from security experts across the globe, can be used for authentification of students, told Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) and Corporate Vice President, Cloud and Enterprise, to news agency IANS in a telephonic interaction.

However, Bhansali also added, "The system allows various authentification process. For example, it can be OTP (one-time password) based or biometric based. It is up to the clients what two authentification process they want to choose,"

Also Read - Digital Transformation To Add $154 Billion To India's GDP By 2021 - Microsoft

Notably, the exam encryption and distribution solution to be implemented was successfully tested as a pilot project in the recently held Class X compartmental examinations, across 487 examination centers with approximately 4,000 students.

The Controller of Examination can track the entire process using a software solution built on Windows 10 and Office 365. The overall process was automated to be highly secure with encryption, two-factor authentication and access to download the exam papers at the examination center only 30 minutes prior to start time.

The solution leverages features in Office 365 to encrypt and watermark the papers. The watermark has the individual center’s code imprinted on it which allows for localization and traceability in the eventuality of a paper leak. A CBSE administrator initiates the distribution of exam papers, which results in the generation of emails to the respective centers with a link to OneDrive, a file-hosting service operated by Microsoft, where an exam paper specific to the exam center can be downloaded. This digitization process saves significant time and cost for exam administrators due to online paper generation, automated delivery process and reduction in approval cycles.

Commenting on the partnership Anil Bhansali, Corporate Vice President, Cloud & Enterprise, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Private Limited said, “A strong education ecosystem is key to our nation’s development and Microsoft and CBSE are deeply committed to digitally transform the sector. Innovative implementation of technology has the potential to solve some of the most pressing issues faced by the sector. The success of this partnership with CBSE is proof of that potential. I am confident we are well on the way towards a digitally empowered education ecosystem.”

For the pilot test, multiple mock trials were conducted before the Class X compartmental examination date, with the entire CBSE team including various exam centers along with Microsoft experts to ensure seamless adoption and familiarity with the process. The solution was deployed by CBSE without a security breach.

Widespread adoption of this solution can transform the education sector and essentially change the way students in India take their exams.

Microsoft is working closely with public and private institutions to help modernize education, impart ICT skills training and provide low or no cost technology that helps students with immersive learning, educators with engaging teaching methods, and administrators with efficient management tools.

Source - Microsoft News Center India | References - Gadgets360

[Top Image - 7cNews.in]

This is How Microsoft Supported Over 4,000 Indian Startups Between April'16 - March'17

Software giant Microsoft recognises the green pastures that the Indian startup ecosystem has to offer and wants to continue contributing actively in its growth, according to a recent report.

In its 2017 India Citizenship Report, Microsoft India has revealed that between the period April 2016 and March 2017, the company has supported over 4,000 Indian startups, skill trained about 30,000 youth and helped in training a whopping 26,000 teachers while working with several not-for-profit organisations and state governments.

Some of the programmes/initiatives that the tech giant has initiated or has become a part of to establish its ground in the Indian startup ecosystem are as follows:

Microsoft Accelerator: Through this, the tech biggie helps new businesses in their journey to excellence. Through the programme, Microsoft works closely with market-ready startups and provides them with the necessary tools, resources, mentorship and knowledge to become successful businesses.

BizSpark: One of the most popular initiative by the tech giant, it aims to provide support to early-stage startups in the country. The programme which is famous as Microsoft’s flagship initiative had handpicked over 100 Indian startups for its BizSpark Plus programme in 2016-17, where it helps the chosen startup multiply its customer base to record breaking numbers.

Microsoft Cloud Accelerator Programme: Through the programme, Microsoft aims to amp up the speed of adoption of its services such as Microsoft Azure and provide a hand in transforming business and governance in a mobile-first and cloud-first world.

Microsoft Educator Community programme: Under the programme, Maharashtra’s state government has embraced the QR Coded textbook idea conceived by a Microsoft India Educator Rajintsinh Disale. The idea enables educators/teachers to receive additional information and resources related to a topic of textbook by scanning a QR code.

Project Saksham: Under the project, the tech biggie has successfully trained over 3,307 educators across 123 universities in the Indian subcontinent. These trained faculty members have, in turn, further provided training to about 1,126 of their peers. In financial year 2016-17, the project helped in training 661 teachers across 21 universities across the country.

Microsoft and the Skill India vision: Keeping in line with Modi government’s Skill India vision, the tech giant brought the power of Predictive Analysis and Machine Learning technologies to sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and education in partnerships with several state governments of the country.

Bala Girisaballa Appointed As CEO of Microsoft Accelerator India

Microsoft Tuesday said Bala Girisaballa will be leading Microsoft Accelerator in India as CEO-in-Residence.

Prior to this, Bala was with Globalisation and market expansion advisory Zinnov as Partner and Practice Head helping MNC R&D companies. He took charge of the Accelerator’s India operations, with effect from August 1. Microsoft also announced that Ravi Narayan, Director, will now assume the role of Global Director at Microsoft Accelerator.

Notably, Girisaballa is also the founder of PurpleFront, a Bengaluru-based technology startup helping small businesses leverage social media effectively to grow and retain customers.

Post his new appointment, Girisaballa will lead the Microsoft India Accelerator’s efforts to help market-ready startups and entrepreneurs to scale up and become successful businesses through the technology enablement, global go-to-market efforts and deep business advisory in the form of Hi-Po and Scale-Up programs, Microsoft said in a statement in Mumbai.

Ravi Narayan, in his new role as Global Director, will help Microsoft Accelerator in eight locations around the world to become market-ready, focused and accelerate these startups that have or will raise institutional funding from venture capitalists.He will also focus on scaling the startup acceleration model through global partners, it said.

Early last year, Microsoft Accelerator in India redesigned their programs to cater to market-ready startups. Since then, it has graduated three cohorts which include startups like iBot, CustomerXPs, Altizon, CloudCherry and Reverie Technologies.

It has also formed partnerships with Temasek, TCS, Citi, Reliance Industries and other multinational corporations under its corporate engagement program #CoInnovate, to help the startups in their go-to-market efforts and global expansion.

[Top Image - Denis Linine / Shutterstock.com]

Microsoft to Set Up Cloud Data Centre in India

If all goes as planned, Microsoft will soon offer Azure and Office 365 - its commercial and cloud services from three new local data centres in India. Microsoft is planning to make these services available by the end of next year. This step by the tech giant will make it the first technology company to ever set up cloud data centres in India. According to experts, this move by Microsoft will have the US based company compete better in the local market.

“When we think about the cloud opportunity in India itself, it is going to be a $2 trillion opportunity,” said, Satya Nadella, Chief Executive, Microsoft in New Delhi on Tuesday. Nadella also added that this move by Microsoft will benefit and help entrepreneurs, Indian companies and government. Nadella did not disclose the investment amount involved in setting up the data centres but said they will have ‘sizeable’ capacity.

This announcement by Microsoft is quite important given the ruling party, BJP’s views about bringing local data centres to the country in order to maintain the data sovereignty. Besides this, a lot of Indian enterprises have long been hesitant and worried about hosting their data on public cloud because none of the major data players like Google, Microsoft or Amazon Web Service have their data centres in the country.

“I think in two or three years, when the servers come to India, the public cloud market will become more interesting because now there are some territorial issues in holding the data in the country,” said, Jagdish Belwal, CIO at Tata Motors in a recent interview given to Economic Times. Tata Motors makes use of Amazon Web Services.

According to Vishal Tripathi’s statement to Economic Times, Microsoft’s move to set up a local data centre will give the company “more muscle” to compete in the cloud services market and “Office 365 could see higher adoption”. Vishal Tripathi is a Principal research analyst at Gartner.

With players such as IBM spending millions on advertising its Softlayer cloud and Oracle trying hard in the Indian market by announcing several more new offerings, the competition in the cloud market has increased like never before.

Microsoft to Set Up Cloud Data Centre in India

If all goes as planned, Microsoft will soon offer Azure and Office 365 - its commercial and cloud services from three new local data centres in India. Microsoft is planning to make these services available by the end of next year. This step by the tech giant will make it the first technology company to ever set up cloud data centres in India. According to experts, this move by Microsoft will have the US based company compete better in the local market.

“When we think about the cloud opportunity in India itself, it is going to be a $2 trillion opportunity,” said, Satya Nadella, Chief Executive, Microsoft in New Delhi on Tuesday. Nadella also added that this move by Microsoft will benefit and help entrepreneurs, Indian companies and government. Nadella did not disclose the investment amount involved in setting up the data centres but said they will have ‘sizeable’ capacity.

This announcement by Microsoft is quite important given the ruling party, BJP’s views about bringing local data centres to the country in order to maintain the data sovereignty. Besides this, a lot of Indian enterprises have long been hesitant and worried about hosting their data on public cloud because none of the major data players like Google, Microsoft or Amazon Web Service have their data centres in the country.

“I think in two or three years, when the servers come to India, the public cloud market will become more interesting because now there are some territorial issues in holding the data in the country,” said, Jagdish Belwal, CIO at Tata Motors in a recent interview given to Economic Times. Tata Motors makes use of Amazon Web Services.

According to Vishal Tripathi’s statement to Economic Times, Microsoft’s move to set up a local data centre will give the company “more muscle” to compete in the cloud services market and “Office 365 could see higher adoption”. Vishal Tripathi is a Principal research analyst at Gartner.

With players such as IBM spending millions on advertising its Softlayer cloud and Oracle trying hard in the Indian market by announcing several more new offerings, the competition in the cloud market has increased like never before.

Microsoft Unveils First Look of New MSN in India

Microsoft today unveiled a first look of the new MSN in India. Designed from the ground up for a mobile, cloud first world, the new MSN combines premium content from the world's leading media outlets with personal productivity tools that help you do more. Built around the insight that the knowledge and information that enriches your life should be accessible regardless of where you are or what device you are using, the new experience is available on the web and will soon be available across all major device platforms, including Windows, iOS and Android.

Starting today, Microsoft is inviting people to try out the new web experience at New MSN Website.

The new MSN focuses on the primary digital daily habits in people’s lives, helping them complete tasks on the web and across all of their devices, roaming data and personalized settings to keep users in the know wherever they are.

Most Popular and Complete Content

MSN is partnering with some of the world’s best and most authoritative sources, including The New York Times in the U.S., Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun in Japan, The Guardian and the Telegraph in the U.K., Le Figaro and Le Monde in France, and Lance and Estadão in Brazil, and many more.

"Microsoft has re-written MSN from the ground up for a mobile-first, cloud first world. The new MSN brings together the world's best media sources along with data and services to enable users to do more." said Sanjay Trehan, Head, MSN India, Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. “Microsoft has partnered with top local content partners from India for the new MSN, including Hindustan Times, NDTV, India Today, Indian Express and Network 18.”

Spanning multiple sections including sports, news, health & fitness, money, travel and video, the new MSN provides a global perspective from thousands of publishers across the world. Information ranges from the latest statistics on over 200 global sports leagues, reviews of over 1.5 million bottles of wine, to over 300,000 gorgeously photographed recipes and more. MSN’s expert editors are able to draw from the over 1,000 sources to hand-curate content for individual markets and cultures.

"With an audience of nearly 425 million people coming to over 57 markets around the world available across the three major device platforms, the new MSN presents an enormous opportunity for publishers" said Adam Anger, General Manager for Asia Pacific, Microsoft Advertising "With over 50% of people accessing content on dedicated apps, this release is in lockstep with where usage is happening."

Know More, Do More

The new MSN brings actionable information and the opportunity to act directly at the point where people are actively engaging, from personal productivity tools like shopping lists, flight status and savings calculators, to integrated access to popular sites like Outlook.com, Facebook, Twitter, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype. At the top of the page, there is a personal stripe allowing you one click access to top services so you can stay on top of what’s happening in your life.

These integrated tools cover eight categories letting you explore, plan, do, and track the activities you care about. You can set up topics to follow about the news you care about. You can track “Game of Thrones spoilers” or "Wolves in Yellowstone" and MSN will stay on top of relevant articles. When you’re searching for recipes and find one that you want to prepare, in one click you can convert the ingredients into a shopping list which will roam from the web to the mobile apps so you have it when you need it in the grocery store not on the printer at work.

Personalized and Available Across Devices

A clean, fresh design makes it easy to find and enjoy content that interests you. You can organize categories and interests making the layout your own.

The new MSN makes it simple to personalize what you want to see regardless of which device you use. In the coming months, we will release a suite of MSN apps across Windows Phone, iOS and Android. You only need to set your preferences once, and your favorite stuff will always be there. In the finance section for instance, when you setup your stock watch list (e.g. DIS) it will show up the same way on the corresponding apps and website. If you prefer to get your content from a specific source, you can set that as a preference (e.g. more stories from The New York Times.)

And it works the same way if you set it up on your phone – so no matter where you start, you don’t have to set it up all over again, changes and updates work the same way. So setup your favorite cities for weather or pick your favorite sports teams and those things will be with you at your PC at work, on your Windows 8.1 tablet in the living room, or on your iPhone when you are on the go.

New Opportunities for Brands

For brands, MSN will continue to offer its loyal audience with a personalized web experience with the added benefit of the best-of-the-web publishers and the engagement of applications across all mobile operating systems. The new MSN is an ideal environment for seamless brand storytelling across devices.

Though the face of MSN has transformed, the process of buying ads is simple. Brands can still enjoy ease of purchasing through similar IAB standard units available on previous versions of MSN.

"With premium content and productivity tools, we're thrilled to offer a new experience to both advertisers and consumers that help people do more,” said Ken Chang, Commercial Director for Asia Pacific, Microsoft Advertising. "Our daily lives have become increasingly busy and with that comes more screens to interact with to make our days make sense. MSN streamlines this experience to the benefit of all people and allows advertisers to be in more moments and to capture consumers at the right mindset during the day."

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 finally unveiled!

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is a multitasker. This device can do it all. You now no longer need a separate device to read an e-book or watch a movie on the go and another device to make entertainment clips and do hardcore work stuff.  Surface Pro 3 combines the best of both a laptop and a tablet and aims at making your life easier and sorted.

This new device by Microsoft works on its Windows 8 system and thus like any other traditional laptop, it can perform functions like Photoshop, movie maker, Microsoft Office and more. On the other hand it has a touch screen just like a tablet. In addition, the Pro also has an optional cover that opens to avow a touchpad and keyboard.

The Surface Pro 3 has a price range similar to laptops. Currently, it is priced at $799 (around Rs. 46,585) and the keyboard cover comes in at an extra $130 (around Rs. 7579). If you’re planning to replace your laptop with a Pro 3 then configuration costs can run up to $1,949 (around Rs. 1, 13,636) or more as you will be requiring more memory and a quicker processor.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 has a display of 12-inch which is more than 10.6 inch display of Pro 2. According to Microsoft, this would help increasing users’ productivity. At 1.76 pounds, Pro 3 is much faster and thinner than Pro 2.  It has also been bestowed with the title of ‘thinnest Intel Core product ever made’.

Microsoft has started taking orders from 21st May though the mid range configuration of Pro 3 will come out in the market only on June 20 and the rest will be launched subsequently later this summer.

Surface Pro 3 also comes packed with a stylus which feels exactly like a real pen and lets you doodle or write in Microsoft’s OneNote App. It also comes with a fan which is about 30 percent more proficient than any other fan currently available in the market.

Microsoft claims that the Pro 3 has a battery life of 9 hours which is an improvement from previous models. It has an aspect ratio of 3:2. Overall, it is wonderful device for people who are sick of handling two devices i.e. the laptop and tablet and desperately want to trade them off for a single device.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 finally unveiled!

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is a multitasker. This device can do it all. You now no longer need a separate device to read an e-book or watch a movie on the go and another device to make entertainment clips and do hardcore work stuff.  Surface Pro 3 combines the best of both a laptop and a tablet and aims at making your life easier and sorted.

This new device by Microsoft works on its Windows 8 system and thus like any other traditional laptop, it can perform functions like Photoshop, movie maker, Microsoft Office and more. On the other hand it has a touch screen just like a tablet. In addition, the Pro also has an optional cover that opens to avow a touchpad and keyboard.

The Surface Pro 3 has a price range similar to laptops. Currently, it is priced at $799 (around Rs. 46,585) and the keyboard cover comes in at an extra $130 (around Rs. 7579). If you’re planning to replace your laptop with a Pro 3 then configuration costs can run up to $1,949 (around Rs. 1, 13,636) or more as you will be requiring more memory and a quicker processor.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 has a display of 12-inch which is more than 10.6 inch display of Pro 2. According to Microsoft, this would help increasing users’ productivity. At 1.76 pounds, Pro 3 is much faster and thinner than Pro 2.  It has also been bestowed with the title of ‘thinnest Intel Core product ever made’.

Microsoft has started taking orders from 21st May though the mid range configuration of Pro 3 will come out in the market only on June 20 and the rest will be launched subsequently later this summer.

Surface Pro 3 also comes packed with a stylus which feels exactly like a real pen and lets you doodle or write in Microsoft’s OneNote App. It also comes with a fan which is about 30 percent more proficient than any other fan currently available in the market.

Microsoft claims that the Pro 3 has a battery life of 9 hours which is an improvement from previous models. It has an aspect ratio of 3:2. Overall, it is wonderful device for people who are sick of handling two devices i.e. the laptop and tablet and desperately want to trade them off for a single device.

Microsoft Targets 25 Million New Indian Consumers with its Devices & Services in 12 months

Microsoft today showcased a wide range of consumer services targeted at the next 25 million new Indian users. Increasingly consumers are looking to do more with their devices and relying more on the services that power these devices. Today Microsoft announced the availability of Office 365 Personal for individual users, further enriching its services offerings for Indian consumers. Office 365 Personal allows users to connect up to two home devices to the service.

Microsoft has also launches cloud-based Office 365 Personal for use on any two home devices including iPads.

According to Chakrapani Gollapali, Country General Manager, Consumer Channels Group, "Today’s consumers are seeking a more optimized experience across their phone, tablet and PC and the combined power of Microsoft devices and services provides the best experience they can have today across all these. We at Microsoft are working hard to deliver unmatched immersive experiences to the next 25 million consumers, powered by our first and third-party devices and our capabilities in the consumer cloud space."

Commenting on the launch of Office 365 Personal, Ram Kumar Pichai, General Manager, Microsoft Office Division said, "More and more consumers today are looking for a home productivity suite which will allow them to move between devices and have constant access to important documents online. Office 365 Personal will address the needs of all these consumers."

Office 365 is the suite of world-leading productivity products from Microsoft, offered as a cloud service.  Since launch it has been the fastest growing product in Microsoft history and has become a >2 billion dollar business within a short span of time. Office 365 Personal is meant for the individual consumer who would like to carry the best productivity experience with PowerPoint, Excel, One Note and more on a device of his choice. The software allows for up to two devices to be connected to the service. Office 365 Personal is available for sale beginning this week at all major retail outlets such as Croma, Reliance Digital and Jumbo Electronics as well as online on the Microsoft Store.

In addition to Office 365 Personal, Microsoft showcased a range of powerful new functionalities in its existing services:

• Consumers using Bing can now use Venue Maps to easily navigate malls across the country. The service displays interior and exterior maps as a layer on top of Bing Maps, complete with store names and precise location data. Venue map data is provided from the Nokia Maps application as well as via Bing searches for public information such as maps which a mall may place on its website. Currently Bing Venue Maps allows consumers to search 120 malls and 3 airports (Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi) across the country. Several extra features have also been added to Bing Search on Windows phones - consumers searching for local destinations on their Windows phones will automatically be provided with directions on how to reach that destination, with an option for audio drive directions.


• Skype group video calling is now available for free on Xbox One, Windows desktop and Mac. Additionally in the future, Skype will deliver group video calling for free across all platforms for the first time ever. Group video calling enables so many important shared experiences, again an example of how consumers today want more from their device.


• Internet Explorer’s 3D FishGL is a colorful, nautical-themed WebGL graphics benchmark that’s touch-friendly, interactive, and engaging. Part of Internet Explorer’s Rethink initiative which aims to create entirely new web experiences for consumers that are fast and beautiful and perfect for touch and never thought to be possible on the web. 3D FishGL inspires web developers to offer a rich 3D browsing experience to consumers. It can be fun for all ages and works so perfectly with touch that even a five-year old could play around with it and have fun.

Microsoft’s Sculpt Mobile Mouse Launched in India

Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Ltd today launched the Sculpt Mobile Mouse. Priced at Rs. 1800 the next-gen computer mouse is optimized for Windows and work on Macintosh as well. The Sculpt Mobile Mouse is extremely compact in its design and packed with wireless USB capabilities and BlueTrack Technology, which works on virtually any surface, making it an ideal device for the office or on the go.

USP of mouse is - a new Windows button is added to this mouse to quickly access the 'Start' menu screen along with four-way scrolling. Sculpt mouse works for both laptop as well as tablet users, the mouse is compatible with both Windows PC devices and Macs.

The mouse has Bluetrack technology which is proprietary tracking technology from Microsoft that lets you use a mouse on virtually any surface, the technology consists the sensor, the light and the component which is configured in a way that it works for a variety of conditions from irregular surface to smooth ones.

Available from September 2013 onwards the Sculpt Mobile Mouse is backed by a worldwide three-year limited hardware warranty.

Top features and benefits

• Optimized for Windows.
  Navigate Windows 8 with ease by pressing the Windows button for quick access to the Start screen. In Windows 7, press the Windows button to quickly pull up the Start menu.


• On the go.
  BlueTrack Technology turns virtually any surface into a mouse pad.1 The Sculpt Mobile Mouse also features wireless USB technology for less clutter.


• Scroll with it.
  Scroll left, right, front and back. Quickly and smoothly navigate your screen with speed and efficiency.

Top-line system requirements

To use the Sculpt Mobile Mouse, consumers need the following:

For a Windows-based PC	For Macintosh
Windows 8, Windows RT2 or Windows 7 150 MB of available storage space USB port 1 AA alkaline battery (included) Broadband required to download software	Mac OS X v10.6–10.8 30 MB of available storage space USB port 1 AA alkaline battery (included)

Microsoft Announced Venture Wing for Startups, Includes India in Accelerator Centres

Lately today Microsoft has announced - Microsoft Ventures, that offer startups community, technology, resources along with seedfunding and accelerator program to startups worldwide.

Microsoft Ventures will be a startup wing from Microsoft that will offer the tools, resources, expertise and routes to global startups and offer them help by providing mentorship, technology guidance, seed funding, joint selling opportunities and lot more.

Microsoft Ventures Accelerators:

Once startups & entrepreneurs realize the business potential of their ideas, they can apply to an immersive 3-6 month Microsoft-owned and operated accelerator program in 5 different location across globe -  Bangalore, Beijing, Paris, Seattle, Tel-Aviv and 3 more coming up soon in Berlin, Moscow and Rio de Janeiro.These immersive accelerator programs are aimed at early-stage startups and first-time entrepreneurs.

Seed Funding from Microsoft Ventures:

Startups can receive direct funding from Microsoft after achieving early business success. Microsoft is evolving the Bing Fund by adding additional funding to support even more startups. Once the startup ball is rolling, this global seed fund offers the opportunity to receive a strategic investment to propel your business to the next level.

Microsoft is also organizing an International Startups Festival from last 3 years, and this year it will be on 10-13 July' 2013  in Montreal. The International Startups Festival bringing together aspiring founders, groundbreaking innovators, and veteran entrepreneurs from around the world.

Microsoft has included Bangalore, India as one of the 5 destination for Microsoft Venture Accelerator program, which shows that India is Indeed emerging as leading startup ecosystem in the world.