Skype Lite to Smart Villages: Key Takeaways From Satya Nadella’s Speech at Future Decoded

When it comes to Microsoft’s mantra for this country, it is Make in India for India. Or at least that was the message driven home by CEO Satya Nadella, who was in Mumbai to deliver the keynote address at Future Decoded, one of India’s largest digital transformation events.

Speaking on Day 2 of the event, Nadella announced a number of programmes exclusively developed for India. Here are some services and initiatives that have us excited about what’s in store.

Image source: Facebook

Skype Lite

Perhaps the biggest announcement by Nadella was Skype Lite. Exclusively for India and developed in Hyderabad, this version of Skype takes significantly lesser space (13mb) than the original version. Working through Aadhaar authentication, the product will help people with lower internet connectivity in India avail a number of features like mobile calling, SMS-es, Skype calls, video calling, and will come in seven Indian languages.

Project Sangam

Nadella also spoke about “Project Sangam,” which will work alongside the government to train and assist people in the country get jobs through LinkedIn, a networking site for professionals. During his speech, he noted that the initiative will be significantly scaled up during the course of this year.

You may also like: This Ex-Microsoft Director Returned to India to Put Jackfruit on the Superfood Map

Expansion of Smart Villages 

It was announced in 2015 that Microsoft would help the government set up 50 smart villages in Maharashtra. With the company’s help, the government has been digitising a number of processes, including healthcare, education and energy. Citing the success of this project, Nadella announced that another 100 villages in India will be going “smart” with the help of Microsoft.

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