NE NEWS SERVICE

Ahmedabad, December 18

As part of its commitment to support the country in its Digital India vision, Microsoft India on Tuesday hosted the Cloud for Digital Governance Tour in Ahmedabad. The tour was inaugurated by Energy Minister Saurabhbhai Patel. The one-day conference is part of the Cloud for Digital Governance national programme, launched by Microsoft in August this year to equip government officials in charge of IT across the country with critical Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligent cloud computing skills.

The initiative comprises a series of physical and virtual workshops and aims to train 5,000 personnel over a period of 12 months to help them leverage AI and secure cloud technology for efficient, transparent and productive governance.

AI and intelligent technologies are becoming all-pervasive today, driving change across businesses, communities and governments. Improving skillsets in AI and the cloud can enable path-breaking innovation and drive the next phase of India’s growth. Microsoft’s first-of-its-kind Cloud for Digital Governance Tour for government officials reiterates our commitment to be a trusted partner to the government by empowering officials to leverage AI and secure cloud technology for efficient, transparent and productive governance.

The tour saw the participation from representatives of the government, IT & electronics sector and the start-up ecosystem; including Amit Prakash Yadav, Regional Commissioner of Municipalities, North Gujarat, Government of Gujarat; PV Mohan Krishnan, DDG, NIC, Gujarat; Nitin Tatu, DGM, Gujarat Informatics Ltd, Government of Gujarat; Rohit Mehta, Advisor, Department of Education, Government of Gujarat; and Manish Prakash, Country General Manager-Public Sector, Health and Education, Microsoft India. The event opened up a conversation around the need to deploy responsible and faster AI solutions for government services, the need for cyber security to collaborate effectively and the need for taking an inclusive approach towards AI, that caters to various segments-urban, rural and people with disabilities. The forum also showcased how various Microsoft tools such as Teams and Azure can be leveraged effectively for e-governance.

Speaking at the event, Manish Prakash, Country General Manager-Public Sector, Health and Education, Microsoft India, said, “Microsoft is deeply invested in the digital transformation of the government eco-system in India. As we work with both the central and state governments across the country to scale AI implementation and cloud adoption, it is vital to equip the ecosystem with the right skills. Today, we are delighted to partner with the government of Gujarat to bring digital skills/technology to empower the government to accelerate their digital journey.”

The Gujarat edition of the program will help align the state to the country’s Digital India vision. In addition, the tour also focused on enhancing entrepreneurial culture in the state and promoting start-ups through the integration of next generation technological solutions.

The Cloud for Digital Governance Tour

The Cloud for Digital Governance Tour is open to technocrats and IT professionals across the entire government ecosystem, including employees of Public Sector undertakings; government partners as well as solutions/systems integrators. It is designed keeping in mind all skill levels required at every stage of the government’s cloud adoption journey – from integrating on-premise core infrastructure with cloud platforms to operationalizing cloud analytics solutions. Through this program, Microsoft will help upskill government officials, equipping them with the digital skills and experience needed today and in the future, to successfully deploy cloud-based solutions.

Microsoft has been a longstanding partner in India’s digital transformation journey, enabling technology-led transformation in government and across various key sectors including education, agriculture and healthcare. Microsoft is the first global public cloud service provider to be accredited by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY). Its hyper-scale, flexible and secure local cloud services from three India datacenters in Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai – Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft 365 – are already accelerating cloud innovation and opening new possibilities in e-governance and inclusive digital growth. These data-centres are geographically situated at strategic locations to aid disaster recovery scenarios within India, for eg natural calamities like city flooding, cyclones etc.