Naidu to ask Gates: Open e-governance

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Naidu to ask Gates: Open e-governance

Hyderabad, Sept 13: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is to seek

the help of Microsoft Corp. in reinforcing electronic governance in

his State when he meets Microsoft boss Bill Gates in New Delhi on

Thursday.

The 20-minute one-on-one meeting would be the third between Naidu and

Gates in three years, highlighting the special rapport the Chief

Minister has established with the global wizard of information

technology.

 

Hyderabad already hosts a Microsoft software development centre, its

first and one of the biggest outside the US.

 

For Naidu, whose State's image as an emerging IT powerhouse was

battered in recent weeks by the floods that submerged this capital

city and violent opposition to reforms in the power sector, the

meeting has come at an opportune time.

 

AP officials believe the meeting will help Naidu bring the focus back

on his efforts to establish a comprehensive system of electronic

governance in the next couple of years.

 

This includes setting up a world-class Institute of Electronic

Governance in Hyderabad where the State government plans to train its

employees and equip them with the necessary skills for the future.

 

Naidu will also be among the State Chief Ministers who will attend a

luncheon meeting with Gates where again e-governance will be on top

of the menu. Gates will be making a presentation on electronic

governance before the select gathering.

 

Official sources said Naidu would seek Gates' cooperation in

putting

in place the infrastructure necessary to boost electronic governance

in Andhra Pradesh, including the training institute.

 

Gates, meanwhile landed here on Wednesday evening in his private jet

for his second visit to India, signalling the importance the

world's

largest software house attaches to the country recognised globally

for its information technology talent.

 

Before he leaves for the Sydney Olympics on Thursday evening, Gates

will have a busy day meeting Information Technology Minister Pramod

Mahajan, a host of Chief Ministers, and addressing the media. Gates,

who was keen to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would be

unable to do so as the latter is currently on a tour of the US.

 

Company officials kept his arrival schedule a well guarded secret

apparently for security reasons. His visit marks the unveiling of

Microsoft's .Net initiative, billed to be the corporation's

most

important internet strategy.

 

It also marks Microsoft's completion of ten years of operation in

India.Gates would interact with the IT industry through Chief

Executive Officers, Chief Information Officers and Chief Technical

Officers.

 

The key focus would be the company's Net strategy announced in

June

this year with Gates scheduled to meet the developers and independent

software vendors community in the country. The Net strategy involves

software built on internet standards, enabling better interaction

between various websites.