Gates to skip Bangalore during December trip; to go to Chennai

Gates to skip Bangalore during December trip; to go to Chennai

The Hindu

Microsoft chief will be going to Chennai: Maran

BANGALORE: Bill Gates, chairman, Microsoft Corporation, is scheduled to visit India in December. But he will not be coming to Bangalore. "I'll be taking him to Chennai," Union Minister for Telecommunications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran said during the inauguration of "Scientia," Microsoft Research Lab's new facility here.

Mr. Maran said Bangalore is growing at "unimaginable speed" and global IT firms which want to start units in India should consider secondary cities, such as Mysore and Mangalore, among a score of other emerging locations in the country.

Referring to the debate over the lack of infrastructure in Bangalore, he said the recent initiative taken by Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh to set up an empowered committee to monitor the situation on a weekly basis has led to tangible results. "There are visible changes. For instance, the roads," he said.

Rs. 500-crore grant

Mr. Maran said he told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to approve a grant of Rs. 500 crores for Karnataka to enable the State build 50 flyovers in 15 or 20 months to ease infrastructure bottlenecks.

"Bangalore has put India on the global IT map. If not for Bangalore, we would not have been able to achieve that. India's jewel in the IT crown should continue to shine," he added.