Microsoft deepening its commitment to India's AI ecosystem, says Satya Nadella
Bengaluru (PTI): Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday said the company is deepening its commitment to India's artificial intelligence ecosystem with massive infrastructure investments.
Microsoft is also strengthening its cloud footprint and focusing on skilling millions of Indians for an AI-driven future, he said.
Speaking at a Microsoft event here, Nadella said, "We are very excited about investing in India to make sure that we're able to bring the best in class infrastructure here, the USD 17.5 billion investment," calling it Microsoft's largest investment in Asia.
The Microsoft Chairman underlined the rapid expansion of the company's cloud footprint across the country.
"We're building on Azure as the world's computer and we have 70 plus data centre regions all over the world. In India, the footprint continues to grow. We now have central India, West India, South India, and we have a partnership with Jio as well," he said.
He further said that a new data centre region would become operational in 2026.
"We are very excited that in 2026, we will have a new DC in south central and then the most exciting part for me is that it's 100 per cent sustainable," he said.
Nadella also emphasised the importance of digital sovereignty and cybersecurity in an era of expanding AI deployment.
"We are taking sovereignty and making sure that there's a portfolio of options for sovereignty. So you have the public cloud, you have sovereign controls in public cloud..." he noted.
He warned that sovereignty cannot be viewed in isolation from security.
"Cyber security is a signals game--you can be sovereign and not have global intelligence--you'll be vulnerable in fact," he said, noting that Microsoft processes "trillions of daily signals" to secure platforms from Azure to Windows.
Nadella said he recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was very encouraging of this investment (USD 17.5 billion), in particular, to drive society, the economy and growth.
This commitment, he noted, comes on top of the USD three billion investment he had announced during his last visit.
On India's talent landscape, Nadella said the company will double down on its skilling programmes.
"We are now going to skill 20 million people across India in AI skills," he said, adding that initiatives such as the government's E-Shram programme demonstrate how AI can uplift unorganised workers.
He also highlighted India's growing influence in the global developer ecosystem.
"India is slated to become the number one community in the world with GitHub by 2030," he said, praising the "engagement and the type of projects that are coming out of this place, the contributions from India."
GitHub is a web-based platform for version control and collaboration that is primarily used by developers to store, manage, and share software code. It is built on top of Git, an open-source version control system, and provides a user-friendly graphical interface and a large suite of collaboration tools.
Nadella closed his speech by reiterating Microsoft's mission. "At the end of the day, this is all about empowering every person and every organisation in India to be able to achieve more. Let's keep building."
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345 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran return home via Armenia
New Delhi (PTI): A group of 345 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India via Armenia on Saturday, officials said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in return of the Indian nationals.
The Indian nationals arrived in Chennai this evening, the officials cited above said.
The circumstances that led to them being stranded in Iran were not immediately known.
"Thank FM @AraratMirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," Jaishankar said on social media.
Over 1,500 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago.
"A group of Indian fishermen, stranded in Iran, are returning home via Armenia today; their flight is expected to reach India this evening," a government statement said.
It said the Ministry of External Affairs continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in the West Asian region, with the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community being accorded the highest priority.
It also made a mention of five Indians being injured in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
According to Abu Dhabi authorities, the Indian nationals were among the 12 people injured by debris from an intercepted missile.
"In an attack in Abu Dhabi, five Indian nationals were injured; four have been discharged, one remains under treatment," the Indian government's statement said.
It said the Indian mission in Abu Dhabi is extending "full" assistance and coordinating with local authorities, adding that their flight is expected to reach India this evening.
