With global markets on a decline, companies like Apple, Microsoft and Facebook are looking East as they see India as among their most under-penetrated and high growth markets.
While Apple CEO Tim Cook is currently on his maiden India visit, Microsoft’s India-born CEO Satya Nadella would be in New Delhi on May 30 for a single-day visit where he’ll be meeting customers, partners, students and entrepreneurs.
At an event called “Tech for Good, Ideas for India” at Taj Palace in New Delhi, Nadella will be meeting students, developers and entrepreneurs.
Later in the day 47-year-old Nadella will also attend a session organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with top executives of corporate India.
Nadella has made several visits to India and met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on several occasions. This would be Nadella's third India visit in the past seven months. In his previous visits, Nadella met Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and addressed Microsoft India employees at the company's Hyderabad campus.
In November, during his keynote address at Microsoft's 'Future Unleashed' event in Mumbai, Nadella had talked about how Microsoft is working with the government to test its WhiteFi technology, which uses unlicensed television spectrum to offer broadband internet services in remote areas. He even met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and announced the plan to test the technology in one of the most underdeveloped villages in Maharashtra at a village called Harisal.
However, since then the company has hit a roadblock for the project, which it insists is purely philanthropic and Microsoft would not earn anything from. However, once the project is successfully implemented across the country, it would help Microsoft sell its software and services on the network.
In January, Union Minister for communications and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the WhiteFi spectrum will only be provided through auction and no exceptions will be made.
Nadella is also likely to meet government officials and discuss about WhiteFi during his upcoming visit.