Microsoft to develop digital villages in Maharashtra

Microsoft Corporation has agreed to develop ‘digital villages’ and a ‘smart MIDC’ (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) in Maharashtra under the state’s ‘Make In Maharashtra’ initiative. It was announced by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, after he met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during his visit to company’s office in Seattle last week. The location of the smart MIDC is yet to be decided.

The company has also said that it will set up a cyber-security centre in Maharashtra’s IT hub Pune and also agreed to adopt a tribal village in Melghat district, in order to provide ‘tertiary health services’ to the weaker sections of the society. Both sides also discussed application of cloud services to MSMEs and technological solutions for implementing the Right to Service Act.

 Microsoft will also help state government develop a ‘Safe Maharashtra’ mobile application, in order to provide security to vulnerable people, especially women and senior citizens by tracking them. Fadnavis also met Boeing CEO Raymond Conner in Mumbai and discussed expansion of MRO operations at its plant in the industrial facility of Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport (MIHAN) in Nagpur.

This article is authored by Prateek Chakraborty, presently interning with DQ Channels.