India readies to welcome, woo Bill Gates

Neena Haridas in New Delhi

The corridors of power are abuzz with activity. Government machinery is being spruced up, as is the Maurya Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New Delhi. Hardly has the euphoria of one Big Bill visit subsided, than the second one has taken over. The entire ministry of information technology is getting ready to get some 'work done' with Bill Gates, the Microsoft chief, who lands in New Delhi on Wednesday night.

IT Minister Pramod Mahajan is scheduled to fly back home from the United States just in time to meet Bill Gates, while Chandrababu Naidu and S M Krishna -- chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, respectively -- are getting ready to touch base with the Microsoft boss.

Representatives from most of the states have already landed in Delhi and most have fixed up their appointments with Gates.

Kerala Education Minister PJ Joseph is in town and is scheduled to meet Gates in the afternoon on Thursday to discuss e-governance projects. According sources in the IT ministry, "It is as if the red alert has been sounded. Everybody is getting ready to meet Gates. Mahajan is expected to meet him and discuss some major projects."

It is being said that Gates is interested in projects worth Rs 20 billion in the IT industry. One of these projects is likely to be a replacement for the Sankhya Vahini project, the Rs 10-billion broadband data network project started off by the Government of India. Microsoft's other investment includes the India Development Centre.

Meanwhile, chief ministers, representatives, IT secretaries or ministers from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh are making a beeline to meet Gates and coax him into investing in their states. Interestingly, no appointment has been fixed for representatives from Bihar.

The Microsoft founder, who was one of the first to spot Indians' talent for information technology, is expected to renew his commitment and announce new business plans relating to the Internet.

Gates will unveil a new .Net software which is expected to run a new generation of smart Internet capable devices.

Meanwhile, industry leaders are also getting ready to get some moolah out of the Microsoft boss. Infosys, Wipro and Satyam are understood to be working overtime to get their projects with Microsoft online. Infosys is expected to announce a joint venture with Microsoft on Thursday. CEOs of about 40 companies are expected to meet Gates.

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