The 10 accelerators of broadband growth for digital indiaMerry D'souza
Entrepreneurship is going to cover major era in broadband services who help to make the growth of digital India and hence Insights Success firm found the top 10 business accelerators that are responsible for cover digital India in broadband services.
The 10 most promising it services companiesMerry D'souza
In the issue of “The 10 Most Promising IT Services Companies,” we have signified an innovative Information Technology, The journey of our magazine begins with Cover story Plaxonic Technologies, as a leading organization, strives for excellence, flexibility and tailor-made solutions towards their customers in the arena of IT & BPO industries.
India CSR Summit and Exhibition, hosted by NGOBOX annually, is the biggest CSR event in India. The recent 2016 event was held in Mumbai, was attended by 850+organizations and 1250+ delegates. The summit brings together businesses, NGOs, consulting firms, government agencies and social enterprises.
August 2016 Edition of BEACON, A Monthly Newsletter by SIMCON.
Inside this issue:
About Us
Our Team
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS : Information Technology
Brand Analysis: Omega
Case Study Analysis: Zara
Concept of the month: Product Portfolio
The 10 accelerators of broadband growth for digital indiaMerry D'souza
Entrepreneurship is going to cover major era in broadband services who help to make the growth of digital India and hence Insights Success firm found the top 10 business accelerators that are responsible for cover digital India in broadband services.
The 10 most promising it services companiesMerry D'souza
In the issue of “The 10 Most Promising IT Services Companies,” we have signified an innovative Information Technology, The journey of our magazine begins with Cover story Plaxonic Technologies, as a leading organization, strives for excellence, flexibility and tailor-made solutions towards their customers in the arena of IT & BPO industries.
India CSR Summit and Exhibition, hosted by NGOBOX annually, is the biggest CSR event in India. The recent 2016 event was held in Mumbai, was attended by 850+organizations and 1250+ delegates. The summit brings together businesses, NGOs, consulting firms, government agencies and social enterprises.
August 2016 Edition of BEACON, A Monthly Newsletter by SIMCON.
Inside this issue:
About Us
Our Team
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS : Information Technology
Brand Analysis: Omega
Case Study Analysis: Zara
Concept of the month: Product Portfolio
Anudip creates digital livelihoods for underserved communities through technology and skills. Since our inception in 2007, Anudip has impacted 450,000+ lives by providing technology-driven employability and entrepreneurship for crisis-stricken youth and women, helping them to earn sustainable wages, multiplying their family incomes and reap the long-term benefits of working in a structured environment.
Anudip beneficiaries are from high-need, marginalized communities; they may be religious minorities, tribals, political refugees, or victims of trafficking. Recognized as Top 10 India’s Best NGOs to Work For™ 2022, Anudip leads its beneficiaries through a process of continuous improvement, in-depth and diverse training and continuous mentoring at the various skill development training centres across India.
As a CSR Implementation Partner for corporates like Accenture, JP Morgan, Capgemini, Wells Fargo, Unilever, Citi, HSBC, ITC, ICRA and others, we create digital livelihoods for marginalized youth, vulnerable women and the needy across emerging economies. Each year hundreds of individuals choose ANUDIP as their NGO for volunteering and consider us as the best NGO to donate in India with an aim to transform lives. From mobilisation to placement support, our CSR implementation process keep our patrons in a close loop, offering them regular insights into the status of the projects across centres.
Anudip is a strategic employer partner of iMerit Technology Services, Capgemini, Amazon, Accenture, IBM, Wipro, Atos Syntel, Tata Consultancy Services, Netscribes, Infosys, Writers Information, Genpact, HCL, and others with its stellar placement record stemming from its training programs being tailored to the actual needs of employers, as well as to students’ career aspirations. We keep liaising with these corporates and others, who in turn hire our graduates.
VISION
To be amongst the country’s top 5 entities, enabling a life of dignity for marginalized communities through market-aligned skills training, building capabilities, and facilitating sustainable employment – in an increasingly digital world.
MISSION
To positively transform 100,000 lives annually by 2024, through market-driven, digital interventions
OUR ETHOS
Anudip works with the purpose of improving the socio-economic status of people living on the margins of our society. The industry aligned digital courses run at our skill development training centres transform lives by offering aspirational livelihoods.
Anudip creates digital livelihoods for underserved communities through technology and skills. Since our inception in 2007, Anudip has impacted 450,000+ lives by providing technology-driven employability and entrepreneurship for crisis-stricken youth and women, helping them to earn sustainable wages, multiplying their family incomes and reap the long-term benefits of working in a structured environment.
Anudip beneficiaries are from high-need, marginalized communities; they may be religious minorities, tribals, political refugees, or victims of trafficking. Recognized as Top 10 India’s Best NGOs to Work For™ 2022, Anudip leads its beneficiaries through a process of continuous improvement, in-depth and diverse training and continuous mentoring at the various skill development training centres across India.
As a CSR Implementation Partner for corporates like Accenture, JP Morgan, Capgemini, Wells Fargo, Unilever, Citi, HSBC, ITC, ICRA and others, we create digital livelihoods for marginalized youth, vulnerable women and the needy across emerging economies. Each year hundreds of individuals choose ANUDIP as their NGO for volunteering and consider us as the best NGO to donate in India with an aim to transform lives. From mobilisation to placement support, our CSR implementation process keep our patrons in a close loop, offering them regular insights into the status of the projects across centres.
Anudip is a strategic employer partner of iMerit Technology Services, Capgemini, Amazon, Accenture, IBM, Wipro, Atos Syntel, Tata Consultancy Services, Netscribes, Infosys, Writers Information, Genpact, HCL, and others with its stellar placement record stemming from its training programs being tailored to the actual needs of employers, as well as to students’ career aspirations. We keep liaising with these corporates and others, who in turn hire our graduates.
VISION
To be amongst the country’s top 5 entities, enabling a life of dignity for marginalized communities through market-aligned skills training, building capabilities, and facilitating sustainable employment – in an increasingly digital world.
MISSION
To positively transform 100,000 lives annually by 2024, through market-driven, digital interventions
OUR ETHOS
Anudip works with the purpose of improving the socio-economic status of people living on the margins of our society. The industry aligned digital courses run at our skill development training centres transform lives by offering aspirational livelihoods.
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Anudip creates digital livelihoods for underserved communities through technology and skills. Since our inception in 2007, Anudip has impacted 450,000+ lives by providing technology-driven employability and entrepreneurship for crisis-stricken youth and women, helping them to earn sustainable wages, multiplying their family incomes and reap the long-term benefits of working in a structured environment.
Anudip beneficiaries are from high-need, marginalized communities; they may be religious minorities, tribals, political refugees, or victims of trafficking. Recognized as Top 10 India’s Best NGOs to Work For™ 2022, Anudip leads its beneficiaries through a process of continuous improvement, in-depth and diverse training and continuous mentoring at the various skill development training centres across India.
As a CSR Implementation Partner for corporates like Accenture, JP Morgan, Capgemini, Wells Fargo, Unilever, Citi, HSBC, ITC, ICRA and others, we create digital livelihoods for marginalized youth, vulnerable women and the needy across emerging economies. Each year hundreds of individuals choose ANUDIP as their NGO for volunteering and consider us as the best NGO to donate in India with an aim to transform lives. From mobilisation to placement support, our CSR implementation process keep our patrons in a close loop, offering them regular insights into the status of the projects across centres.
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VISION
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MISSION
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Anudip works with the purpose of improving the socio-economic status of people living on the margins of our society. The industry aligned digital courses run at our skill development training centres transform lives by offering aspirational livelihoods.
Anudip creates digital livelihoods for underserved communities through technology and skills. Since our inception in 2007, Anudip has impacted 450,000+ lives by providing technology-driven employability and entrepreneurship for crisis-stricken youth and women, helping them to earn sustainable wages, multiplying their family incomes and reap the long-term benefits of working in a structured environment.
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2. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Citizenship is built into our mission - to empower every
person and every organization on the planet to achieve more
and help them thrive in a mobile-first, cloud-first world. I feel
proud of the contributions Microsoft has made to the nation.
I feel equally proud of the involvement of our employees
and their personal contributions in serving the underserved
sections of society. The theme of our Citizenship report 2015-
16, ‘Empowering India’ underscores how our Citizenship
efforts aim to play a key role in India’s growth story.
India is on the path to becoming a digitally empowered
society. Technology will increasingly play an important role
in solving India’s challenges around literacy, health care,
poverty, employment, financial inclusion, accessibility and
governance. We are committed to India’s inclusive growth
and are enthused by the Government’s recognition of the
role technology plays in bridging the digital divide. This
commitment is strengthened through our Citizenship efforts.
At Microsoft, we have always been focused on enhancing
skills and competency in India and have contributed
towards building a future workforce of skilled professionals.
Continuing this commitment, we are running digital literacy
initiatives under the YouthSpark program for marginalized
communities, with a special focus on girls and young women.
In education, we actively work on training the teachers in our
country, equipping and enabling digital learning for
students, sparking their creative side. We partner with
several institutions of higher education in the country
and our Citizenship initiatives are geared towards
skilling youth for employment. Programs like BizSpark,
DreamSpark and Imagine Cup have been immensely
successful in driving entrepreneurship and innovation
amongst the youth.
In 2015, we launched our cloud services from local
data centers and are actively working to propel the
adoption of cloud in India and transforming India’s
IT infrastructure. We believe that cloud computing
will help businesses across the board succeed and
scale faster. Through cost savings on IT infrastructure
investments and the flexibility to scale, we see the
cloud accelerating the growth of start-ups and SMBs
in India. Economic growth lies in the productivity of its
people. In a country undergoing transformation, digital
divide can pose serious challenges. Making computing
ubiquitous and universally available is integral to
our mission. Given the geographical diversity and
vast terrain, Internet connectivity to rural India has
its challenges. Telecom and network connectivity are
enablers to India’s growth and is an acute imperative.
In Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, Microsoft India has
introduced TV White Spaces, a pilot project developed by
Microsoft Research, which could be the solution to India’s
digital divide and rural connectivity. Affordable, easy to
implement and far-reaching, the pilot underscores the
fact that TV White Spaces can internet enable rural India,
provide hotspots in congested locations and even establish
emergency broadband networks in dire disaster recovery
situations.
Citizenship at Microsoft is about building an ecosystem to
enable the growth of the country. We stand committed to
fostering India’s inclusive growth and passionately driving
our Citizenship efforts towards empowering India.
Bhaskar Pramanik
Chairman, Microsoft India
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
2
Chairman’s Message
3. Contents
1. Microsoft India 5. Innovation for Societal Welfare
3. Empowering Entrepreneurs
6. Our People
7. Working Responsibly
2. Empowering Community
through Education
Our Business
Citizenship at Microsoft India
Stakeholder Engagement
Topics for the report
TV White Spaces
99DOTS
Putting India on the Cloud
Predictive Analytics
Project Shiksha
Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts Program
Showcase School Program
Microsoft Student Partners
DreamSpark
Saksham
Digital Innovation Lab
Microsoft Academia Accelerator
Imagine Cup
Microsoft Digital India Hackathon
Microsoft Innovation Centers
Program Oorja
Recruitment, Onboarding and Integration
Programs for the Employees
Benefits and Support
Human Rights
Business Conduct
Privacy and Data Security
Sourcing from Indirect Suppliers
Environmental Sustainability
Microsoft Accelerator
Scale Up and Hi-Po
BizSpark
Partner Accelerators
#CoInnovate
4. Serving Communities
YouthSpark
Tech4Good
Employee Giving
Empowering Non-Profits
Accessibility
Disaster and Humanitarian Relief
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
3
5. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
1.1. Our Business
Microsoft India began its journey in 1990 as a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation . Our
mission is to enable people and organizations throughout the world to do more and
achieve more by creating technology that transforms the way people learn, work, play and
communicate. We develop and market software, services, and devices that deliver new
opportunities, greater convenience, and enhance value to people’s lives.
At Microsoft India, we seek to enable inclusive
development in India, by partnering with the
Government,industryandacademia.AsIndiatakesits
place as a leader in the global knowledge economy,
we continue to be an active partner in the country’s
growth. We believe that innovation in technology is
critical to achieving sustainable economic growth and
social development.
Helping people and local communities reach their
true potential with technology has always been one
of Microsoft’s core values. We have been committed
to help businesses grow and empower public sector
bodies to be more efficient. Additionally, we partner
with the government and non - profit organizations
toreachthecommunitiesinordertobuildaninclusive
society - by enhancing education, skill development,
and enabling technology access.
We realize our mission and strategy by investing
in three interconnected and bold ambitions:
Focuses on broad applications
and services core technologies
in productivity, communication,
education, search, and other
information categories.
Focuses on development
of our cloud infrastructure,
server, database, Customer
Relationship Management
(CRM), Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP), management,
development tools, and other
business process applications
and services for enterprises.
Focuses on our Windows
platform across devices of all
types, hardware development
of our devices - including Xbox
consoles, Surface devices,
Lumia phones, non-Lumia
phones, Surface Hub, Microsoft
Band, and other hardware
products and accessories - and
associatedonlinemarketplaces.
The Applications and
Services Engineering
Group
The Cloud and Enterprise
Engineering Group
The Windows and
Devices Engineering
Group
Reinvent productivity
and business processes
Create more
personal computing
Build the intelligent
cloud platform
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
At the core, Microsoft is a platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world.
We develop most of our products and services internally through three engineering groups.
5
®
6. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
1.1. Our Business
In India, our business is organized around six major business units that represent our entire
product cycle from serving consumers to corporations, gamers to governments. Each business
unit has the power of decision autonomy as well as the strength of collaborative resources
enabling the organization to render services in a fast and reliable manner.
Microsoft currently has offices in ten cities
across India: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai,
Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, the NCR
(includes offices in New Delhi and Gurgaon), and
Pune. Our main campus in Hyderabad houses
MSR is a theoretical research
lab in the country and focuses
on developing market relevant
technology and services.
MSIT is Microsoft’s engineering
division that works on building
critical solutions with Microsoft’s
core products.
The sales and marketing
organization is the customer
facing organization in the
country. It focuses on the
enterprise, small, and mid-
market groups and consumer
segments, via a strong channel
network of over 10,000
members and through its own
team of people located in ten
cities.
IGTSC provides technical
resolution services to Microsoft’s
English-speaking enterprise
customers and partners
across geographies. It assists
organizations that leverage
Microsoft technologies to
optimize their IT investments
and keep their businesses
productive round the clock.
MSGD is the delivery arm of
Microsoft that tests Microsoft’s
emergingtechnologiesandadds
them to Microsoft’s tool kit.
Microsoft’s largest development
center collaborates with other
development centers across the
world to build great software
products.
Microsoft Research India
(MSR India)
Microsoft Sales and
Marketing
Microsoft India Global
Technical Support
Center (IGTSC)
Microsoft Services
Globaal Delivery (MSGD)
Microsoft India
Development
Center (MSIDC)
Microsoft IT (MSIT)
development, IT and global services. Sales and
marketing is headquartered in Gurgaon while
research and technical support centers are based
in Bangalore.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
6
For more information, please click here.
7. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
1.2. Citizenship at Microsoft India
Citizenship at Microsoft India is aimed at empowering India through concerted efforts across education
and skill building, better governance through robust technology infrastructure and creating a digital
economy. This is amplified through our network of partners including academia, governments
and non-profits. In addition to strategic interventions, our Citizenship activities include employee
volunteerism, fund and software grants to organizations focused on education and employability for
youth.
Our Citizenship team comprises primarily
of personnel who drive community affairs,
employee volunteerism and communications.
Strategic direction to the team is provided by
the India Leadership Team that comprises of the
Chairman, the heads of business units in India
and the heads of Finance, HR, Communications,
and Corporate, Economic and Legal Affairs
(CELA) teams. The Global Citizenship Team
based out of our headquarters in Seattle, US
works closely with us to ensure alignment of our
end objectives.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
1.3. Stakeholder Engagement
As part of the Citizenship reporting initiative, we reflected upon our stakeholder identification,
prioritization and engagement strategies. On internal consultations across business units, our key
stakeholders in the context of Citizenship emerged to be the following groups :
External Stakeholders
•Board of Directors
•Employees
•Microsoft Corporation
7
• Local Governments
• Customers
• Academia
• Communities/ Non-Profit
Organizations
• Industry Coalitions
Internal Stakeholders
For more information, please click here.
8. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
We engage with both internal and external
stakeholders regularly through various channels
such as meetings, newsletters, citizenship
activities, and others. We manage stakeholder
relationships and ongoing dialogues to help
inform and guide our strategies.
We engage with peers and professionals on
CSR in industry and government through CSR
specific forums such as World Economic Forum,
NASSCOM, Federation of Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian
Industry and others.
For the purpose of a framework for reporting
on our Citizenship efforts, we have adopted
various international and national standards and
guidelines such as the Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI)’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines,
Business Responsibility Reports Guidelines, and
National Voluntary Guidelines.
Local
Governments
Communities/
Non-Profit
Organizations
Board of
Directors
Employees
Microsoft
Corporation
Academia
Customers
Suppliers Industry
Coalitions
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
Microsoft India
1.3. Stakeholder Engagement
8
9. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
1.3. Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder Engagement Overview
Stakeholder Groups Examples of Engagement Selected results
Local Governments
In an effort to accelerate
learning of global best practices
and uptake of technology by
the Government for better
delivery of services to the larger
public, Microsoft India engages
with the Government in the
following ways:
• Knowledge sharing through
meetings with Microsoft
thought leaders
• Partner in projects such as
White Spaces
• Provide proof of concept
through pilot programs
The topics of engagement
include net neutrality, Internet
governance, internet of Things,
Open Source, TV White Space,
Cyber Security and voice over
Internet.
Microsoft India is aligned to
the government’s focus on
education, skill development,
employabilityandempowering
MSMEs (micro small and
medium enterprises) through
digital empowerment.
Stakeholder Groups Examples of Engagement Selected results
Board of Directors
We have constituted a CSR
Committee of the Board for each
of our business units as per the
requirements of Section 135 of
the Companies Act 2013. The
Board of Directors oversees the
CSR implementation and the CSR
Committee meets periodically
to review Microsoft India’s CSR
initiatives.
Microsoft India has adopted
a CSR policy approved by the
Board of Directors. We are
looking to consolidate the CSR
efforts of our business units
across India.
Stakeholder Engagement Overview
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
Employees
We engage with our employees
on an ongoing basis through
multiple channels including
performance reviews, training
and development, anonymous
polls and various other feedback
mechanisms. Specifically, for
Citizenship reporting, we
engaged with each of the
business units on Citizenship
strategy, plans and activities.
Microsoft India’s business units
continue to share leading
practices and pilot programs
across Citizenship and CSR.
9
10. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Stakeholder Groups Examples of Engagement Selected results
Communities/
Non-Profit
Organizations
The various business units of
Microsoft India engage with
communities where they operate
directly and in partnerships with
local non-profits to understand
and serve the social needs. This
last year, this engagement has
also taken shape of CSR projects
and programs for Microsoft India.
Our engagement with the
communities and non-profit
organizations is detailed in the
‘Serving Communities’ chapter.
Academia
Microsoft India engages with
the students and faculty alike in
academia in various capacities
including student competitions,
internships, engagement with
faculty on Microsoft products and
technologies, research support,
recruitments and others.
The ongoing dialogue between
academia and Microsoft India’s
business units is aimed at a
high mindshare amongst the
students, and in awareness of
Microsoft products.
1.3. Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder Engagement Overview
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
Customers
Our business units work closely
with each other as well as their
global counterparts and continually
gain insights from customers
through online feedback, support
communities, product satisfaction
surveys, usability studies, research
forums, business account managers,
and our customer service
representatives.
Customer feedback form
crucial inputs to decisions on
product development and
services. Microsoft India is
working on accessibility and
universal design of all products
and services.
Stakeholder Groups Examples of Engagement Selected results
Suppliers
Our engagement with suppliers is
alignedtotheglobalchannelssuch
as supplier registrations, surveys,
capacity-building workshops and
trainings, supplier summits and
participation in industry coalitions.
We work closely with our
suppliers to align with global
practices such as the Electronics
Industry Citizenship Coalition
and others.
10
Stakeholder Engagement Overview
11. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
Stakeholder Groups Examples of Engagement Selected results
Stakeholder Engagement Overview
Industry Coalitions
MicrosoftIndiaactivelyparticipates
in industry coalitions such as
NASSCOM, Confederation of
Indian Industry and others to
engage in a dialogue on digital
empowerment of India with peers
and policymakers.
Microsoft India leads the
efforts in Citizenship disclosure,
accessibility initiatives and
participates in leading practices
sharing through industry
coalitions.
Microsoft Corporation
We regularly interact with
Microsoft Corporation team
on Citizenship strategy and
approach to disclosure.
Microsoft India with its unique
positioning will elaborate
on its Citizenship efforts
through annual India-specific
Citizenship report.
1.3. Stakeholder Engagement
11
12. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
We actively reached out to Citizenship leads
of all the business units in Microsoft India and
engaged with key functions involved with
Citizenship for the purpose of this reporting
exercise. The comprehensive assessment
of the responses that we received helped
define the topics for this report.
1.4. Topics for the Report
CSR Law in India
The introduction of Section 135 of the
Companies Act, 2013 has created a statutory
responsibility for companies qualifying a
certain financial threshold in India to report
on its CSR activities. All the legal entities of
Microsoft India qualifying under this CSR Law
have to contribute 2% of their average net
profits of the preceding three financial years
towards CSR activities. The philanthropic
initiatives by different business units of
Microsoft India are aligned or restructured
to align and qualify as CSR spend as per
the CSR Law, and form a key input to this
Citizenship report.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
We have a National Plan that aligns to the
core agenda of inclusive growth in India.
Every year, Microsoft invests resources in
activities that are aimed at:
•Education and skill development for youth
leading to better employability
•Better governance through better IT
infrastructure
•Information security awareness and
infrastructure
•Intellectual Property Right awareness and
strong policies
•Creation of a digital economy
National Plan Priorities
Microsoft Global Citizenship Approach
In meeting our responsibilities as a global
corporate citizen, Microsoft Corporation seeks
to develop principled, pragmatic business
approach to challenging issues. The topics
identified in the Global Citizenship approach
include :
•Human Rights
•Responsible Sourcing
•Environmental Sustainability
•Integrity and Governance
•Our People
12
The topics identified for our Citizenship report align with the Microsoft Global Citizenship
approach, National Plan priorities of Microsoft India, CSR Law in India and were selected after
active engagement with internal stakeholders as described in this section
Active Engagement with Employees
13. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Emphasis on empowering India and partnering in its inclusive growth is a key driver across our
Citizenship initiatives. The topics identified for the Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2015-16 center
on the theme of ‘Empowering India’. It is important to recognize that these topics and their relative
importance are dynamic and are likely to change with time, forming key inputs to our evolving
Citizenship strategy. The topics identified for the year 2015-16 are :
We are committed to improve
public service delivery through
innovative tools.
1.4. Topics for the Report
Working Responsibly
Innovation for Societal
Welfare
We are committed to the
development of the communities
we work with. We apply our
expertise in technology, our
talent and our financial resources
for the betterment of the society.
We provide a world class work
environment for our people
to work. Our dynamic work
culture drives collaboration and
inclusion among employees
leading to exceptional personal
and professional growth.
Serving Communities Our People
At Microsoft, our values support
our corporate mission to
empower people to do
more and achieve more. By
working together with other
organizations, we can make an
even greater difference in the
on-going struggle to achieve
a more sustainable, socially
responsible world.
The key to a better India are
empowered students and
educators. We provide technology
and tools to enrich the learning
experience.
Empowering Community
through Education
We are committed to promoting
entrepreneurship and giving
boost to innovative processes
and the culture that fosters
start-ups.
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
13
14. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2
Empowering Community
through Education
2.1. Project Shiksha
2.2. Microsoft Innovative Educator
Experts Program
2.3. Showcase School Program
2.4. Microsoft Student Partners
2.5. DreamSpark
2.6. Saksham
2.7. Digital Innovation Lab
2.8. Microsoft Academia Accelerator
2.9. Imagine Cup
2.10. Microsoft Digital India Hackathon
2.11. Microsoft Innovation Centers
2.12. Program Oorja
14
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
15. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Education is key to the growth of a nation. The combination of quality content, partnerships,
training, and access to technology is essential for transforming the current scenario for
education in India. At Microsoft India, we have always seen education as a priority and
believe that technology offers new educational possibilities, empowering both teachers and
students.
Aligned with our vision to empower every
student to achieve more, we leverage technology
to collaborate with education communities in
delivering solutions, services and programs that
enhance learning experience. We engage and
sustain our involvement with students, right
from the beginning of K-12 education until their
graduation. Besides equipping students with
employable skills, we also provide the ecosystem
to foster creative skills, tap technology tools
to address societal problems and also build
sustainable businesses. At school level, initiatives
such as Shiksha, Microsoft Innovative Educator
Experts Program and Showcase Schools play
a vital role in empowering educators, inspiring
students, and transforming schools. After
K-12 Education, we engage with students by
selecting advocates of technology products
and services, and foster talent by organizing
annual hackathons and technology competitions,
setting up innovation labs and infrastructural
facilities for capacity building of educators and
administrators. We also focus on employability
by skilling students at Polytechnics/ Industrial
Training Institutes/ Engineering Colleges. Following
sub sections detail out our initiatives in education.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
15
16. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.1. Project Shiksha
Project Shiksha, launched in 2003, focuses on
imparting technology and integration skills to
government teachers in India. Under this project
each teacher undergoes a comprehensive 6-day
face-to-face training, imparted in a classroom
setup. The curriculum is specific to the needs
of teachers and enables them to realize their
potential for using Information Technology (IT) in
academics and school administration. The project
has a pre-service delivery model as well as post-
school model that help increase the impact in
each of the states where it is present. Since its
launch, more than 7.7 lakh government school
teachers have been equipped with IT skills across
states such as Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat, Mizoram,
Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu
and Uttar Pradesh.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
16
17. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.2. Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts Program
We believe that in order to provide a platform
for education, it is important that educators
are motivated and are provided a platform to
encourage creation of modules that can be
shared as a best practice globally. The Microsoft
Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert programme is
an exclusive programme created to recognize
global teacher visionaries who are using
technology to pave the way for their peers in the
effective use of technology for better learning
and student outcomes. MIE Experts work closely
with us to lead innovation in education. They
advocateandsharetheirthoughtsontheeffective
use of technology in education with peers and
policy makers. They provide us insights on new
products and tools for education, in addition to
exchanging best practices as they work together
to promote innovation in teaching and learning.
Microsoft Innovative Educators Leadership
Awards (MIELA) honour the best classroom
innovators across the country by highlighting,
recognizing, and rewarding educators who are
using technology in amazing ways.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
17
18. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Bijal Damani graduated with an MBA and
started working as a Marketing Manager.
Highly accomplished, Damani threw it all up
for a career in teaching when the realization
dawned on her that ‘making a difference’
was more important than a fat pay cheque,
and she decided to focus on training
students with 21st century skills to become
responsible citizens and entrepreneurs of
tomorrow. She began her teaching career as
a computing instructor, and then spent some
time with special needs children. Eventually
she became a teacher of commerce and
economics, in line with her life goals, for
senior students at S N Kansagra School in
Rajkot.
Rejecting the typical Indian rote approach
to teaching, Bijal includes practical projects
in her courses. She has been running the
social-entrepreneurship project ‘Galaxy
Bazaar’ for nine years now. It consists of
organizing a bazaar before Diwali as a platform
for local artisans and wholesalers, providing
all the festival-related goods under one roof
at less than retail prices. The net profit the
school generates from these events, which has
reached an accumulated total of $60,000, is
used to offer equal educational opportunities
to underprivileged girls. The impact of this
project will extend over the next few decades
and it has won the People’s Award of the School
Enterprise Challenge 2013. Bijal has presented
its results and her classroom practices at
various international conferences.
She has been helping students increase their
productivity by developing the right skills in this
mobile-and-cloud era. Her students also work
in a virtual environment - attend e-classrooms
and submit e-portfolio for assessment. Her
selection as a Microsoft Innovative Educator
(MIE) speaks for her technological prowess in
education field. She was selected for the second
Case Study - Innovating Education in India
consecutive year as MIE in the class of 2014-15. Bijal’s journey on the path of e-enlightenment
continues as a ‘globally connected educator’.
2.2. Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts Program
18
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
19. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
In order to provide personalized learning
experience, we partner with schools through
the Microsoft Showcase School Program. The
learning experiences center around personalized
learning, amplified by 1:1 deployments that
effectively use Microsoft solutions (e.g. Surface,
Office 365 Education, Office Mix, OneNote,
Skype) to enable anywhere, anytime education
for all students. Showcase School leadership
teams are part of a professional community that
recognizes and amplifies the use of technology to
drive transformation and efficiencies throughout
the school.
2.3. Showcase School Program
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
19
20. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.5. DreamSpark
DreamSpark supports technical education by
providing students with access to professional-
level developer and designer tools at no cost so
that they can chase their dreams and create the
next big breakthrough in technology - or just
get a head start in their career. Unveiled in 2008
in India, we help academicians teach the latest
technologies and experiment in research.
We know that to make learning more motivating,
relevant, and engaging for today’s students
requires a diverse set of resources. Through
DreamSpark, we offer a subscription for academic
institutions to provide a cost-effective way to put
Microsoft developer tools, platforms and servers
in labs and classrooms, and on their students’
and faculty’s computers for learning and research
purposes, thereby, reducing costs of laboratories
and the teaching budgets.
2.4. Microsoft Student Partners
Microsoft Student Partners is a program to
sponsor students in colleges and universities
to share their deep knowledge and passion
for technology with their fellow students. They
master the latest technical content provided by
Microsoft Imagine and share what they learn,
building leadership and communication skills
along with technical expertise.
These student partners run workshops and
hackathons, host tech events and give demos on
campus, work alongside Microsoft professionals,
assisting them during hackathons and events,
join exclusive Microsoft training events to learn
the latest technologies, grow and nurture a
community of students and faculty on-campus
and online and also enhance their skills and
career opportunities.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
20
21. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.6. Saksham
India’s demographic dividend can be capitalized and harnessed to drive the next phase of growth for
India. Faculty development plays a key role in driving 21st century skills in students. Hence any intervention
targeted at faculty on pedagogy can have a profound impact on learning and teaching.
Microsoft India has been working with institutes of
higher education in the country and acknowledges
that effective professional development is critical
for teachers to be able to integrate technology into
teachingandimprovestudent’slearningexperience.
Saksham,launchedin2011,equipsthemtoprioritize
and undertake the digitization and networking of
their institutions, build content repository, schedule
online sessions and gain meaningful insights into
education tools, office productivity, cloud adoption,
unified communication and accessibility features
for inclusive education.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
21
So far, we have reached out to 81 State/ Central
Universities in 24 states, training over 3800 faculty
members. It has been instrumental in changing the
perception of educators from even non IT domain
to work towards engaging teaching-learning
environment.
States
State/ Central
Universities
24
81
Faculty Members
3800
22. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.7. Digital Innovation Lab
We support universities in improving productivity
and building capacity of not only faculty but also
of administrators and students by setting up a
Digital Innovation lab at University premises.
Through this intervention, we aim to empower
the faculty with knowledge tools which aid in
deployment of technology in teaching and
learning and facilitate innovation. The initiative
provides insights about the changing learning
needs of the 21st century learner and skills
to modify teaching strategies to meet those
needs, prepare educators to use state-of-the-
art technological tools to enhance classroom
instruction. We support inclusive education and
help people with disabilities to use computers
more effectively. The members engage and
access online communities to be a part of
knowledge sharing culture. In the year 2015-
16, 452 educators, 421 administrators and 444
students attended this program.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
22
2015 - 2016
Educators
Administrators
Students
452
421
444
23. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.8. Microsoft Academia Accelerator
Microsoft Academia Accelerator, started in
2014 in India, is a program through which
our engineers from MSIDC partner with top
engineering colleges, their computer science
faculty and students from across disciplines to
support them in their curriculum development
and delivery of syllabus to foster the spirit of
innovation and entrepreneurship.
Voluntarily driven by our engineers, the program
is aimed at bridging the industry-academia
divide in computer science. It adds a layer of
cutting edge industry know-how to the existing
computer science curriculum of engineering
colleges in India. Through this, students gain
exposure to critically important technology trends
and practices in areas like cloud, data sciences,
software architecture, mobile computing,
thereby preparing themselves with vital skills and
experiences that will enrich their careers and fuel
innovation and impact in India.
We have been successful in generating interest
among the target audience. For instance, faculty
members are now proactively reaching out for
deeper collaboration, and new technology focus
areas are emerging. Our annual hackathon
series, titled Code.Fun.Do is now popular and
provides an opportunity to students from other
disciplines as well to learn coding. Hackathons
are preceded by fast-paced, hands-on talks and
demos that orient students to key concepts
needed to build apps for modern platforms
such as smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles
and the cloud. The students participate in a 20-
hour overnight coding competition under the
proctorship/ guidance of experts from Microsoft
or Microsoft appointed training partners. Top
teams from the hackathons conducted at the
college campus level graduate to a 3-month long
online Code.Fun.Do Finalists Forum, where India’s
best student developers get the opportunity to
India produces some of the world’s
finest engineering talent. Many of them
get started on their journeys at the top
engineering colleges. By adding a layer
of cutting-edge industry know-how on
top of the existing Computer Science
curriculum, the Academia Accelerator
program aims to expose students to
critically important technology trends
and practices earlier, during their
formative years, thereby preparing them
with vital skills and experiences that will
enrich their careers and fuel innovation
and impact from India.
refine their winning ideas and take them to the
next level, ably supported by seasoned Microsoft
mentors. This program stresses the concepts of
teamwork and collaboration as well as multi-
disciplinary focus that take students beyond pure
technology or code into other equally important
determinants of success, such as user experience,
design and customer value propositions.
For more information, please click here.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
23
24. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.9. Imagine Cup
Imagine Cup is an annual global competition
sponsored and hosted by Microsoft to bring
together young technologists worldwide to help
resolve some of the world’s toughest challenges.
The Indian leg of Imagine Cup of this year was
held in April, 2015. One grand winner of the
Indian leg of Imagine Cup represented India at
worldwide finals in Seattle, USA, to compete
among global teams for a USD 50,000 prize.
Now in its 13th year, this global technology
competition features three categories:
•World Citizenship category - It seeks ideas
focused on solving global problems in areas
such as health, environment, and human rights.
•Innovation category - It seeks ideas that appeal
to consumer audiences, as well as inspire and
delight a wider audience.
•Games category - It challenges teams to
develop innovations that raise the bar in the
global game revolution.
The competition of 2015 included three contests
under these three categories – the Pitch Video
Challenge, the Project Blueprint Challenge, and
the User Experience Challenge, in addition to
the main competition, to empower students
to explore various avenues and platforms to
develop and showcase their ideas.
Microsoft Imagine Cup continues to not only
witness strong participation from India, but
also boasts of several success stories emerging
from the competition. After competing in the
Imagine Cup, one of the participants launched
his project into a company, EDUKINECT, which
provides an educational service platform to
help more than 20,000 students be future-
ready. CodeBlue, an Indian team, bagged
second place in the Apps for Office Challenge
at the Imagine Cup 2014 Worldwide Finals held
in Seattle on July 31, 2014. Their innovative
app – Molecule Maker, provides a library of
molecule visualizations in Microsoft Word, Excel
and Powerpoint, enabling the representation of
molecules visually.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
24
25. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.11. Microsoft Innovation Centers
A Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) is a
technical facility that provides programs
and services to foster innovation and grow
sustainable local software economies. Launched
in 2012, in India, MICs support implementation
of technology programs for youth, developers,
2.10. Microsoft Digital India Hackathon
In July 2015, we organized Digital India Hackathon
as part of the Government’s Digital India Week
celebration. It was aimed at preparing ‘Skilled
India’ to face technological challenges and
devise solutions to contribute towards realizing
the implementation objectives of the Digital India
and Make in India programs.
Digital India Hackathons were organized across
India and over 6,000 STEM students from over
20 states, received over 300 Hours of training
and hands on development on cutting edge
Microsoft technologies. We extensively leveraged
our Microsoft Innovation Centers (MICs) network
to host these large scale events and the Microsoft
Student Partners (MSPs) to help in driving end to
end event execution and support. The students
were trained and encouraged to develop apps
and solutions on Digital India themes, Smart
Governance, Smart City as well as apps in socially
relevant areas like HealthCare, Education and
Women Safety.
and entrepreneurs in the local community and
engage them in activities that build skills, increase
start-up business success, and create jobs. So far,
we have set up 44 Microsoft Innovation Centers
in colleges across India.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
25
Cash
Expertise
Facilities/Staff
Local
Private
Public
Government
Academia
Community/
NGOs/
Foundation
Private
Public
Government
Academia
Community/
NGOs/
Foundation
Access to
leaders/Government/
Industry/Others
Brand Identification
Investment Oppurtunity
Access to
talent/facilities/
Technology
Innovative culture
GIVES
INFLUENCES
GETS
IMPACT
Job creation
Vibrant Startup ecosystem
Skills creation-tecnological/other
Support for an industry/Scenario
where infrastructure is lacking
Simulate R&D
Attract talent & Industry
INNOVATION
CENTER
26. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
2.12. Program Oorja
India has set a target of skilling 500 million people
by 2022. The aim of skill development in the country
is to achieve rapid and inclusive growth through
enhancing individual employability and ability to
adapt to changing technologies.
Through Oorja, we enable students of Polytechnics/
Industrial Technology Institutes/ Engineering Colleges,
to be industry ready by helping them acquire
globally recognized certification in various Microsoft
Education curricula, largely office productivity. We
work in association with governments and education
leaders at the national, state and local levels in this
initiative. Started in 2013, Project Oorja reached out
to 2880 students from 16 states. Students are given a
5-day training with and a voucher to take the global
online assessment on the sixth day. They are also
given hands-on training on basic components of a
computer, introduction to Win 8.1, troubleshooting
anddigitallifestylesandOffice2013withlotofpractice
tests to be able to do well in the assessment.
We have received very encouraging feedback from
both students and state officials about the training
program, with a request for repeat trainings.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
26
28. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. With a growing entrepreneurship
culture supported by proactive government measures and increased access to venture
funding in India, Microsoft recognizes that the country is poised for robust economic growth
accelerated by the emerging entrepreneurial landscape.
We partake in this India growth story by empowering entrepreneurs through citizenship
initiatives. We engage with the start-up community in a variety of ways. Through our
Microsoft Accelerator and its Scale Up and Hi-Po programs, we work with promising start-
ups directly. Our reach in the start-up community is greater through initiatives like BizSpark
and partner accelerators. These initiatives and impact are detailed in the following sections.
3.1. Microsoft Accelerator
Microsoft Accelerator is our corporate venturing
arm located in start-up ecosystems around the
world - Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, London, Paris,
Tel-Aviv and Seattle. Through our Accelerator, we
work with start-ups across all stages of maturity
in an endeavor to help entrepreneurs build great
companies. Our support includes providing
start-ups with tools, resources and expertise to
help them scale, develop innovative services
and acquire new customers. Our Accelerators
have been rated as the best among leading
accelerator and incubator programs across the
globe.
In India, Microsoft Accelerator was established
in 2012. Stationed in Bangalore, we run one
of India’s largest start-up accelerators. Within
this short timeframe, we have created a
unique position for ourselves in the Indian
start-up ecosystem - becoming a platform for
entrepreneurs, corporates, investors and other
stakeholders.
Our Accelerator in India identifies high
performing and promising entrepreneurs and
start-ups and runs the program twice every
year - one from August to November and
another from February to May. With a 150+
mentor network and associations with notable
organizations, we offer entrepreneurs a platform
to accelerate their start-ups and take them to
the next level. We provide access to investors,
customers and technology, so that every start-
up mentored at the Accelerator can scale from
idea to execution at an accelerated speed. Our
variety of programs, including Scale Up and Hi-
Po, are designed to get pre-Series A and series-
funded start-ups the growth and traction they
need to be successful in the future. We believe
that with individualized support and access to
our resources, start-ups can accelerate their
growth six fold through our programs.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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150+
Mentor
Networks
Million
1.08
Funded
76%
Funded
83
Start-ups
29. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
3.2. Scale Up
and Hi-Po
The Indian start-up ecosystem now has adequate
avenues for early stage start-ups. However, there
is a dearth of support and adequate guidance
in the growth stage, because of which many
promising start-ups face stagnation. In order to
address this, we launched two programs:Scale
Up andHi-Po.
For the Scale Up program, 10 start-ups made
the cut from over 1,800 that applied for the
winter batch of this program. They comprise
two series-A-funded start-ups and eight others
that have raised over US$1 million in funding.
Three of them are already well-established in the
market. HI-Po provides mentorship to such well-
established firms and access to new markets,
partners, customers, and technology.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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3.3. BizSpark
We run BizSpark, a flagship three-year program for privately owned start-ups that are less than 5
years old and with annual revenue of US$ 1 million or less. BizSpark helps start-ups succeed in a
variety of ways including by giving them free access to Microsoft cloud services, software services
and other support. Some of the services include:
Up to US$ 750 per month
of free Azure cloud services
for 3 years (US$ 150 per
month each for up to 5
developers per start-up).
Afullsuiteofdevelopment
and test software and
tools such as Visual
Studio, Windows and
Office.
Access to hundreds of free
training classes, technical
content plus 4 break-fix
phone support incidents.
Leveraging our BizSpark platform, we have partnered with the Indian School of Business to support
promising start-ups under the ‘Technology Entrepreneurship Program’ (TEP) to focus on budding
entrepreneurs in their business growth and development, industrial strength technology and creating
usable products. This strategic partnership aims at:
We have worked with 83 start-ups including
those at seed stage, early growth stage and
scale up stages. Approximately 76% of the start-
ups associated with us have been funded with
an average funding of US$ 1.08 million. Our
Accelerator in India was recognized as the ‘Top
Ecosystem Builder’ by Fortune Magazine at
the 40 Under 40 Awards in 2016. In 2015, we
emerged as one of the key players in the start-
up ecosystem as part of a survey on the start-up
scenario undertaken by The Economic Times.
3.1. Microsoft
Accelerator
30. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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3.4.Partner Accelerators
AIM Smart City Accelerator
India is spearheading growth of its cities through
the ambitious smart cities program. We strongly
believe that connected solutions and systems will
play a key role in enabling smart cities and the
technology in this space needs fast-tracking – to
productize ideas and bring these solutions to the
market for rapid and mass adoption.
To provide this enabling environment, we have
joined hands with Ashoka University and DLabs
at the Indian School of Business to create the
AIM Smart City accelerator. The accelerator will
provide start-ups with a focus on technology
and solutions for smart cities access to funding,
investors, customers as well as technological
assistance.
Some of other partner accelerators include
Sandbox Start-ups, Indian School of Design and
Innovation (ISDI) Creative Accelerator, and Brand
Capital.
3.3. BizSpark
GenNext Hub
•Providing software through Microsoft BizSpark
program to the start-ups enrolled in the ISB TEP
and Azure cloud platform through BizSpark plus
program to high potential start-ups
•Providing mentorship to participants/ students
of TEP program both on technical and business
front where participants are building products/
solutions using Microsoft technologies
•Developing and implementation of educational
modules on entrepreneurship in the engineering
college of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
•Providing a holistic entrepreneurial ecosystem
involving academia, students and entrepreneurs
which facilitates synergy across all relevant
stakeholders for support of technology
entrepreneurship in India
•Setting mechanism to select 10 projects
across sectors where Microsoft can extend its
technology and business including free software
under its BizSpark program
For more information, please click here.
We partnered with Reliance Industries through
GenNextHubtohelpstart-upsscaleupandevolve
from a ‘Minimum Viable Product’ to a ‘Minimum
Viable Company’. We believe in providing a
strong foundation for growth and success by
providing them with the critical resources that
they need. The hub has a 4-month immersive
program where start-ups gain access to funding,
business mentors, technical and design experts,
plug and play office space and other resources.
31. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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3.5. #CoInnovate
In our committed endeavor to empower
entrepreneurs, we launched #CoInnovate in
December 2015 - a program to connect mature
start-ups with corporates. Through the program,
corporates get access to innovative solutions
for their business needs while start-ups find
greater market access. We have numerous cases
such as Citibank, Reliance Industries, Kyron,
Patni Healthcare and other large corporates
using this platform to drive innovation in their
organizations.
33. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Serving the local communities has been an integral part of the overall activities of all
Microsoft entities in India. Our Citizenship efforts in India have a considerable focus on
community development that range from disaster relief to providing long term sustenance
to communities. Our initiatives in this area include:
Promote education and
digital inclusion including
training of teachers to
use technology for better
outcomes in education
Women Empowerment:
participation of girls and
women in jobs, science
and technology careers
and other activities to
promote gender equality
Support humanitarian
relief and disaster
management efforts in
areas affected by natural
calamities through our
partnership and grants
to national level disaster
response NGOs, assist
in rehabilitation work
around provision of
shelters, safe and clean
water, medical aid and
ensure sanitation in the
relief facilities
Expand opportunity for
children and youth living
with disabilities
Support sanitation drives
as part of an overall
education program
to help drive better
results from education
programs
Promote employee
giving and volunteering
to contribute to various
projects focusing on
ensuring education of
girls through provision
of safe and clean
sanitation facilities,
supporttomid-daymeal
programs, provision of
fellowship grants and
support to education of
street children
Help NGOs use
technology to magnify
the social change and
impact through donating
software and services,
improving access to
hardware, sharing
knowledge and building
capacities of NGOs to
leverage technology for
social good and provide
innovative technology
solutions
Skilling, Employability
and Entrepreneurship:
provide digital and
vocational training and
job placement support for
youth (especially girls and
women), facilitate young
people to start their own
micro enterprises and small
businesses
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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34. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.1. YouthSpark
In 2012, Microsoft announced YouthSpark, a company-wide, global initiative to create opportunities
for 300 million youth by 2015. Through over 30 programs and partnerships with more than 350 youth-
serving non-profits, YouthSpark brings together technology, training, investments and experiences to
help the youth change the world that enables them to make a difference, both to their own lives and
to those within their community.
The three core objectives that we have identified are powered through a number of directed programs
focused on partnerships with governments, non-profit organizations and businesses. Spread across
16 states in India, YouthSpark empowers youth to imagine and realize their full potential as it:
4.1.1. Project Jyoti
Project Jyoti works through the Community
Technology Learning Center (CTLC) which is a
hub for youth to learn about computers, use the
Internet, explore new careers and further their
education. Through this initiative, we partner
with non-profits across the country to empower
underserved individuals, especially unemployed
youth,marginalizedwomenandruralcommunities,
through computer literacy and IT skills training. The
scope of the program has been expanded beyond
employability to incorporate the component of
entrepreneurship.
Project Jyoti adapts an enterprise approach to
training and actively encourages the youth to
develop an entrepreneurial mind set. As a result,
over 1700 youth enterprises have been established.
In 2015-16, over 30,000 young adults received
training, 70% of who got gainful employment or
are self-employed and over 900 youth enterprises
were established.
From the Chikanari weavers in Uttar Pradesh
who use CAD software to make better designs
to the fishermen of Tamil Nadu who use satellite
connectivity to gather timely weather information,
the efforts of Project Jyoti have created some
amazing stories. We have also helped the youth
we work with, find IT-related jobs across sectors
including BPO, Customer Management and Retail,
Hospitality and Fashion Design. Together, all the
initiatives help empower the youth by making them
educated and self-sufficient.
Transforms education and
expands digital inclusion
Unleashes future innovators
bygivingyouththeinspiration
and tools to imagine new
opportunities
Helps youth realize
new opportunities of
and entrepreneurship
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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35. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.1. YouthSpark
At present, a student of Anudip Foundation’s
3D4D Project, Dilsad earns Rs. 6000 per
month. She is simultaneously completing her
graduation and taking care of her family. Prior
to Anudip, her life was completely different.
Her family income was less than Rs. 1000 per
month. Such a severe lack of finances forced
her to look for a job and start earning as soon
as possible. She managed to secure a job at St.
Peter’s School as a part time teacher and started
earning approximately Rs. 1000 per month.
Dilsad though was determined to continue
with her studies. After completing school, she
started her graduate studies at Harimohan
Ghosh College. She started looking for better
job opportunities to fund her education and
support her family. This search first led her to
Anudip’s Foundation’s 3-month ‘MAST’ training
course, which she completed at Swayam
Metiabruz Community Support Centre. Her
continuous pursuit for better employment then
steered her towards Anudip’s 3D4D Project.
On the recommendation of her ‘MAST’ trainer,
she decided to face a number of preliminary
interviews. She was chosen as one of the eight
students who would be participating in the 3D4D
Project. It was at this point that Dilsad decided
to leave her teaching job. She is now on her
tenth month of training and has learnt to print
a number of 3D products including some basic
models and shapes, company logos, sports
mementos, engineering products, corporate
gifts like name holders, pen stands, key chains
and prosthetic hand. She is a very serious and
dedicated student with good communication
skills. She diligently attends all classes and is
determined to do well. Dilsad says that at last
she feels happy, confident and satisfied with life.
Case Study - Dilsad scales new heights with Anudip Foundation
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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4.1.1. Project Jyoti
36. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.1. YouthSpark
Ketan belongs to the village of Racchvada in
Narmada District of Gujarat. He is 20 years
old. Due to financial issue at home, Ketan
was unable to attain any education after his
schooling grade 12th. After a meeting with
Ketan and his parents at the Selamba Centre,
he agreed to join the skill development
program in order to become eligible for a
job with sustainable and exponential salary.
Ketan joined Yuva Junction with great spirits
and aspirations. His motivation to earn
money as quickly as possible out of need
made him a fabulous listener, learner and in
later stages, a marvellous performer. He took
his training as seriously as he could. It did
not come as a surprise to everyone when he
cracked his interview in the very first attempt.
In fact, that is what every person who knew
his struggles and endless efforts would have
predicted to come about.
At the moment, Ketan works at KFC at the
Adajan outlet in Surat. When he first joined, his
salary was only INR 5,500 but just in a matter
of 8-9 months he has managed to pursue
successive increments which makes him earn
INR 9,000 a month as a base pay. In addition to
this, he also pulls off multiple benefits from the
company and gets additional pay for finishing
off various sections of the outlet. Ketan is a
very shrewd saver too. With all his long term
planned savings, he has recently bought a
top-notch bike (Yamaha FZ) which costs nearly
a sum of INR 80,000. This tells us how Yuva
Junction has helped Ketan with basic life skills
too.
Case Study - Yuva Junction helps Ketan change his destiny
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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4.1.1. Project Jyoti
37. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.1. YouthSpark
YouthSpark Live events bring young people
together to plan their future. Throughout the
event, they identify the skills they need to reach
their goals, figure out how technology will
accelerate them forward, and get connected to
programs that will help them get there.
YouthSpark Live focuses on three major goals:
• Employment: Ensures technology proficiency
and preparation for jobs
• Careers in Tech: Equips with skills required for
jobs in computer science
• Entrepreneurship: Nurtures business acumen
to create, build and grow a business
4.1.2. YouthSpark Live
We have a long-standing commitment to helping
youth realize their full potential. In April 2015,
Microsoft India unveiled the ‘Build Your Business
(BYB)’ curriculum for Indian youth. This is aimed
at empowering entrepreneurs and start-ups with
tools and practices to develop their business
strategy, build and sustain their business, and
effectively compete in the marketplace. With
this, we hope to encourage youth to become
entrepreneurs and job creators.
4.1.3. YouthSpark - Build Your
Business
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
by Microsoft with an amazing leadership-
development trip to Nicaragua to learn about
creating change, $2,500 cash to help turn his
ideas into a reality, a Windows Phone, and the
opportunity to serve as a Microsoft YouthSpark
Advocate from India.
4.1.4. YouthSpark – Challenge for Change
Challenge for Change is a global contest that encourages young people who are passionate about
social causes to find ways to spark good in their communities.
The project ‘Emancipator’ – a real time position
tracking system developed by Roopam consists
of a mobile application which sends alerts to
a Dementia patient’s caregiver. The Dementia
patient wears a band which starts vibrating
as soon as the geo-fence is crossed giving a
sense to the patient that he has crossed the
geo-fence and once he is back to his senses
he presses a button which triggers a voice
navigation back to his home. The application
also has features like medication reminders
and suggested exercises for the well-being of
the person, thus reducing the cost of Dementia
Care along with the number of care-giving
hours. Roopam’s victory has been rewarded
37
Case Study - Sparking a revolution for Dementia patients
38. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.1.5. DigiGirlz
DigiGirlz is an exclusive initiative under the
YouthSpark umbrella that gives girls aged 12–
15 years an opportunity to learn about careers
in technology by connecting with Microsoft
employees and participating in hands on
computer and technology workshops. Interactive
technology workshops and inspirational talks
from Microsoft employees are orchestrated in a
day-long event at the Microsoft campus inspiring
young girls to adopt technology as their career.
For more information, please click here.
4.1. YouthSpark
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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39. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.2. Tech4Good
Microsoft acknowledges the powerful role that
technology can play in empowering citizens. To
this end, we have built thoughtful features in
our products. Our Windows app ‘Guardian’ aims
to safeguard the user in times of distress and is
very beneficial for the women users. Enabled
with real-time tracking and intelligent SOS Alert,
it ensures seamless connectivity between the
vulnerable and their loved ones.
VideoKheti is another revolutionary app that
puts technology in the hands of the farmers.
The potential of this research prototype lies in its
ability to serve as a platform for farmers and the
less-literate communities to connect and share
best practice videos in the language and dialect
of their choice.
Microsoft also seeks to enhance digital literacy
by providing free access to Office 365 – a cloud
based office suite for select schools. As a result of
our inclination to align technology for the benefit
of all, more than 2000 trainees from 1500 NGOs
have been directly trained on critical IT processes
like software procurement, planning exercises to
identify future technology needs and execution
of advanced technologies. A total of more than
200,000 people have directly benefitted from
these trainings.
4.3. Employee Giving
The Employee Giving Campaign, the largest
ever corporate giving program in the world
was started in India in 2006. Our employees
participate in the annual Giving Campaign, held
during the entire month of October, and donate
to a charity regularly. The funds raised through the
Giving Campaign are matched dollar for dollar
by Microsoft before being handed over to the
trusted non-profits. During 2015-16, employees
donated INR 2.31 crore which resulted in funding
of 146 NGOs.
Pay As You Earn
Pay As You Earn is executed in partnership with
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) India. This gives
our employees an opportunity to give back to
the community by supporting a cause of their
choice directly from their pay. The idea of the
programme is also that even small contributions
by employees make a positive impact on the
lives of the underprivileged.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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2015 - 2016
146
Funded
2.31
Crores
40. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Sanitation for Education was launched in
partnership with Charities Aid Foundation,
India. Through this initiative, we are supporting
42 schools in sanitation, especially girls’ schools
across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and
Hyderabad benefitting nearly 30,000 students.
In addition, Microsoft employees were involved
in a six-month long awareness campaign about
sanitation and hygiene for 10,746 students in
these 42 schools. This initiative was conceived
to support the Government’s Swacch Bharat
Abhiyaan.
For more information, please click here.
Sanitation for Education
4.3. Employee Giving
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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41. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.4. Empowering Non-Profits
We are proud to work with numerous non-profits
in India to support their work and help them be
more efficient, effective, and innovative. Whether
through our software donations or technology
solutions, we strive to help non-profits do more
good. Various initiatives are undertaken by us
to help NGOs get equipped with the requisite
IT infrastructure enabling them bring about
a greater social change. Since 2006, we have
donated software products worth around 300
crores (USD 51 million) to more than 550 NGOs.
During 2015-16, 2,00,000 licenses for software
products worth 12 crores (USD 2 Million) were
donated.
For more information, please click here.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
41
2015 - 2016
2,00,000
Licenses
550
Since 2006
300
Crores
12
Crores
42. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.4. Empowering Non-Profits
When we first met Althaf, he was mentally
deranged. He spent many months in a
garbage bin in Coonoor in the Nilgiris.
Some of the store owners in the nearby area
brought him to Udavum Karangal centre in
Coimbatore. After few days of initial care and
attention, Mr. Ratan started training him on
how to take care of himself. Althaf started
showing improvements just after three weeks
of training and was able to correctly tell his
family and address in local language.
When Udavum Karangal staff contacted
Althaf’s family with the recovery news, it was
an emotional sight. The family never expected
to see him again. Around 10 years ago, one
fine day, Althaf disappeared from his house.
Since the family couldn’t trace him so they
took him to be dead. When Althaf’s family
came to take him home, they were very happy
and the tears in their eyes clearly explained
Case Study - Udavum Karangal( Chennai) rehabilitates Althaf
how much they missed him. Now Althaf is
living a normal life with his family.
Kaaviya lives with her mother Malarvizshi in
Dharmapuri District in Tamil Nadu. Malarvizshi
started working in a clinic to support her
family after her husband deserted her. Her
income was not sufficient to meet the family’s
basic needs. She approached Avvai Home for
Kaaviya’s admission as she could not send her
daughter to school due to financial difficulties.
Kaaviya is being provided with shelter, food,
clothing and education at no cost at Avvai
Home.
Kaaviya says “I am getting a very rich protein
diet and healthy food here at Avvai Home.
In my house, I can’t get gift products like set
watch, encyclopedia etc. but I am getting them
at Avvai Home. I can’t visit tourist places like
Queen’s Land, ChokkiThaani etc. but in Avvai
Home I am able to visit those. I am enjoying
too much at Avvai Home. In my class, the
teachers are teaching well. Our teachers help
Case Study - Avvai Home supports Kaaviya’s Education
us like our friends. I feel very happy to study
in Avvai Home. I feel proud to say I am a
resident and student of Avvai Home. When
I grow up, I want to become an IPS.”
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
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43. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Product Localization
Localization of Microsoft Windows and Office has
been included to the 14 Indian languages. We
support all platforms and full range of products
to offer Indian language. A feature of Microsoft
Office Suite Hindi (and several Indian languages
available) is proofing tools that improve the
customer experience.
We have also introduced a Translator app that
works on all smartphones, tablets, the Apple
Watch and Android Wear devices. With this users
can translate words or phrases either by typing
or through voice commands. The app can also
speak out translated words or phrases. The app
allows to copy and paste text from and to other
apps for quick translation.
For more information, please click here.
Microsoft Translator App
Accessibility features are factored into the
early stages of product planning, research
and development, making Microsoft an
industry leader in building products that
are safer and easier for anyone to use.
Our commitment to accessibility began
over two decades ago and continues with
each new product we develop.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
4.5. Accessibility
The concept of accessibility is driven by the motto
of ‘bringing productivity to every person on the
planet’. Core applications such as Windows and
Office have been successfully developed to be
accessible. For people with impairments, features
such as the narrator, magnifier and on-screen
keyboard are what make computing possible.
Our commitment to accessibility began over
two decades ago and continues with each new
product we develop. Through our efforts and
collaborative work with governments, industry,
academia, and NGOs, we have developed
innovative solutions that remove barriers to
accessibility for many.
Project Bhasha
It promotes local language computing with an
objective to lower barriers for people who prefer
computing in their native tongue. Project Bhasha
is our commitment to provide local language
interface packs for our flagship products.
The initiative also looks at building vibrant
local language communities that define and
contribute to these efforts. Our products include
features with options for seven Indian languages
- Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi,
Tamil and Telugu.
For more information, please click here.
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44. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
4.6. Disaster and Humanitarian Relief
We have always been supporting humanitarian
relief and disaster management efforts by
developing technological solutions that foster
social and economic change. Technology can
help save lives by making communication
and collaboration faster, easier, and more
comprehensive. As part of relief and
humanitarian efforts, we provided monetary
and technology support to those affected by
earthquakes in Nepal and floods in India. In light
of the devastating floods in Chennai and the
subsequent impact on the local communications
infrastructure – we made all international calls to
landlines and mobiles through Skype into Tamil
Nadu free of charge for a few days.
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46. Microsoft
India
Innovation
for Societal
Welfare
Empowering
Community
through
Education
Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
5.1. TV White Spaces
In India affordable access to Internet remains a
challenge. According to the World Bank’s World
Development Report 2016, 1.063 billion people
in India are still offline. While Internet penetration
is about 76% in urban India, it is only 7% in
rural India (as reported by Internet and Mobile
Association of India).This digital divide in the
country is deepening the chasms of inequality
in India.
Accessibility and affordability is the crux of
connectivity challenge India. The Government’s
ambitious Digital India plan wants to change
the current scenario by bridging the digital
divide and providing affordable access to
Internet services to every citizen in India. We
have leveraged technology innovation through
the use of TV White Space technology to
effectively connect the digitally disadvantaged.
This technology utilizes spectrum in the VHF and
UHF television broadcast bands that are either
unassigned or unused by existing broadcast or
other licensees to take connectivity to currently
underserved areas. While this is similar to that
Innovation can play a huge role in solving societal challenges and in India disruptive
technologies can be leveraged to improve the quality of public services and ensure inclusive
growth.
of a conventional Wi- Fi technology, it requires
fewer access points as the television signals travel
over longer distances. Microsoft India works as
a technology provider to harness this spectrum
to propagate broadband to the next mile. The
innovation in the TV White Space technology can
be used by individuals and organizations alike to
provide services such as to enhance connectivity
to India’s rural areas or establish layers of high
quality connectivity in cities or potentially double
up as emergency broadband networks in disaster
recovery situations.
Pilot testing of TV White Space technology was
carried out in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh and
was later extended to the city of Varanasi in Uttar
Pradesh in 2015. Microsoft plans to collaborate
with the central and state Governments to
provide technology in order to connect 500,000
villages across the country. We believe that low-
cost broadband connectivity coupled with the
scale of cloud computing intelligence that can
be harnessed from data, can help drive creativity,
efficiency and productivity across governments
and businesses of all sizes.
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Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
On 29th July 2015, students from Kasturba
Gandhi Girls Residency School, a rural girls’
school in Srikakulam (India) along with students
from Gakawa Secondary School in Nanyuki
(Kenya) interacted with Mr. Satya Nadella,
CEO of Microsoft. These two underserved and
isolated rural townships in different continents
were able to connect over Skype through the
Internet with connectivity enabled by TV White
Space pilot project initiated by Microsoft.
On another occasion, the students’ interest
was piqued as all kinds of curious packages
and people began to appear around them.
Technicians materialized, to set up a base
station at the Kasturba Gandhi Girls Residency
School. They then installed receiver devices
at the three other schools located within a
radius of 10 kilometers. Within a few hours
of links being established between the
schools, students had Internet connectivity
and were online. Microsoft’s Project Shiksha
then came on board to train the students
and teachers, and helped familiarize them
with the technology - making tremendous
advancements in a matter of weeks. And while
the simple interaction session was a first for
the students, it was also a first for India.
Case Study - Internet comes to Rural schools!
5.1. TV White Spaces
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Empowering
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through
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5.2. 99DOTS
The World Health Organization estimates that
even in developed countries, less than half of
chronic disease patients take medication as
directed. This problem is especially dire in the
case of tuberculosis (TB), where non-adherence
to medication contributed to an estimated
450,000 drug-resistant cases in 2013. To bolster
adherence, countries such as India have long
embraced Directly Observed Therapy Short
course (DOTS), where patients travel to clinics
to take doses under the observation of a care
provider. However, DOTS has proven to be costly,
difficult to implement, and inconvenient for
patients. These factors greatly limit its reach and
effectiveness.
In order to address the problem, MSR India has
developed a revolutionary technology called
99DOTS - an innovative model of delivering
tuberculosis medications that utilizes basic mobile
phones and augmented blister packaging to
provide real-time adherence monitoring without
the burden of direct observation.
The approach to the 99DOTS model utilizes a
custom envelope, or blister card, into which each
pack of medication is inserted and sealed by the
provider. When the patient dispenses medication
from the blister pack, the pills also break through
perforated flaps on the blister card. On the back
side of each flap is a hidden number. Patients
submit these numbers by sending a free missed
call as evidence that they have dispensed
medication. The beginning of the phone number
is printed on the outside of the card, while the
remaining digits (unpredictable to patients) are
hidden behind the pills.
99DOTS represents a promising approach for
improving the delivery of tuberculosis medication
through technology. Microsoft India’s unique
innovation provides healthcare providers an
option to move adherents to 99DOTS and focus
attention on less adherent patients for greater
impact. So far we have reached to 1273 patients
and provided 60,813 doses across 27 sites in
India.
For more information, please click here.
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Entrepreneurs
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5.3. Putting India on the Cloud
Cloud Computing can transform the way technology is used. With advantages such as high computing
power, cheap cost of services, high performance, scalability and accessibility, cloud computing has
immense value creation for citizens, businesses as well as Governments. India is migrating to the
cloud with remarkable results. We are taking several significant steps in this regard as detailed below -
5.3.1. Special Cloud Accelerator Program
Cloud Accelerator Program serves as a catalyst
to accelerate adoption of Microsoft Azure and
Office 365 amongst enterprises and Government
organizations.
The Cloud Accelerator Program is designed to
help India move to the cloud, and in turn, help
‘Make in India’ a reality. This helps organizations
to not only plan local cloud roadmaps, but also
increase compliance with local regulations.
More than 15 Microsoft partners are part of the
roll out of this program. This will open up new
possibilities in e-governance, financial inclusion,
healthcare and education to positively impact
the lives of a billion people.
In addition, we have launched cloud training
programs viz., Azure Vidyapeeth and GuruVarta
for partners to enable Small and Medium
Businesses (SMBs) to move to the cloud. These
programswillupskillpartnerstohelp10,000SMBs
across 250 cities while making this transition.
Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2016
5.3.2. Cloud Data Centres in India
In 2015, we set up three cloud data centers in
India. This brings our cloud services - Microsoft
Azure, Dynamics and Office 365 - to local data
centers in India to accelerate cloud innovation.
We are the first of the top United States public
cloud providers to offer services in India from
local data centers. The three sites are in Pune,
Chennai, and Mumbai serving Central India,
South India, and West India Azure cloud
regions respectively. With the availability of
local cloud services, regulated industries such
as BFSI, Government departments and state-
owned enterprises can now leverage public
cloud services and take advantage of local data
residency. In addition, businesses that deal with
large amounts of data e.g. media companies can
benefit from advantages such as data replication
in multiple regions within India for backup and
recovery, reduced network distance, lower
latency and the option of a private connection
to the cloud.
Our local cloud services are well-suited for
Governments and businesses that already have
significant investments in owned information
technology (IT) infrastructure. They will now
be able to extend their existing IT infrastructure
and private clouds to Microsoft local (public)
cloud, thereby creating compelling hybrid cloud
scenarios and reducing their cost of IT operations
significantly. Quality of public service delivery is
bound to improve as local cloud services can
accelerate e-governance and roll-out citizen
services at unprecedented scale and speed,
thereby accelerating the Government’s Digital
India and Smart Cities programs.
With the assurance of local data residency,
programs like digital lockers and digital identity
will also move quickly and enable better citizen
services.
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5.3.3. Cloud Initiatives for Schools
This initiative aims at empowering students
and teachers with transformative learning skills,
furthering our long-standing commitment to
bridge the digital divide and supporting the
Government’s Digital India vision. Leveraging
the advantages of Microsoft Azure, teachers
and students can access digital libraries and
participate in live streaming of lectures with a
complete infrastructure backup on cloud.
In May 2015, Sri Chaitanya Schools became first
of the K-12 education networks to adopt the
initiative for its 80 schools. Teachers and students
of Sri Chaitanya Schools will use 14,000 Windows-
powered tablets to access rich, interactive and
relevant content from the Microsoft cloud to
make learning and teaching more engaging and
productive.
5.3. Putting India on the Cloud
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through
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Empowering
Entrepreneurs
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Communities
Our People Working
Responsibly
Globally, there are 285 million people with visual
impairments; of which 54 million are in India alone.
Eye care services can be made available to those
most at risk through data analysis and modeling
on clinical data of patients. We recognized this
opportunity as we partnered with LV Prasad
Eye Institute (LVPEI), which has treated over
18 million patients since 1987. In 2010, the eye
care institute deployed an information system to
maintain patient data across their 120 centers in
India, providing potentially millions of clinical data
points for analysis.
Through an innovative hybrid approach, we
connected the eye care institute’s information
system and Azure to bring non-personally
identifiable information to the cloud. With
this real-time tracker of eye care services and
advanced visualization technology, the initiative
provides insights to improve patient services
across various centers.
In view of this successful collaboration, we
continue to work with LVPEI on development of
the machine learning model to predict success of
LASIK surgeries and possibility or risk of regression.
Potentially, this would help patients who run the
risk of surgery failures save the cost of surgery
and explore alternative options.
5.4. Predictive Analytics
Azure Machine Learning is a powerful cloud-
based predictive analytics service that makes it
possible to quickly create and deploy predictive
models as analytics solutions in the cloud. We are
working with the Government of Andhra Pradesh
to build machine learning models on data being
collected on student enrolment to predict
dropouts. Using this intelligence, Government
subsidies, programs and other interventions can
be directed to help students and schools that
most need it and improve graduation rates.
This analysis led to the discovery of over 60
visual patterns. Andhra Pradesh Government
is now using this intelligence to plan strategic
interventions under the ‘Badi Pilustondi’
campaign. In addition to helping address the
issue of school drop-outs, the process has paved
way for further digitization of school records.
Machine learning surely has the potential to
change the way India learns.
Predictive Model Technology to Reduce Drop-out Rates in Schools Enhancing Healthcare through Machine Learning
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Innovation
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Welfare
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Empowering
Entrepreneurs
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Communities
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Responsibly
At Microsoft India, we believe that our people are the driving strength. We strive to build
an environment that nurtures our people to bring out the best in everything that they do.
To achieve this, we believe in a culture founded in a growth mindset in two areas:
Our workplace is recognized as a center for
broadening awareness around gender diversity
and having several initiatives for making the place
a truly inclusive workplace. Our culture promotes
growth of ideas through impetus of diversity of
people and thoughts that further reflects in the
way we innovate. As a result, our ideas are better,
our products are better, and our customers are
better served.
We believe in building and sustaining
relationships with our people and this reflects in
everything, right from recruitment to professional
and personal support. We go an extra mile to
ensure comfort to our employees while they are
scaling new heights. Microsoft India has been
recognized as the ‘Second-most admired IT
company in India’ by the Fortune India List 2014.
We are a family of individuals united by a single,
shared mission. We build on the ideas of others
and collaborate across boundaries to bring the
best of Microsoft to our customers as one.
We seek to be open to learning our own biases
and changing our behaviors so we can tap into
the collective power of everyone. We don’t just
value differences; we seek them out and invite
them in. The diversity emerges from the unique
experiences and skill sets.
One Microsoft Diversity and Inclusion
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6.1. Recruitment, Onboarding and
Integration
At Microsoft India, hiring is a critical strategic activity
as it directly impacts one of our strategic goals- to
acquire, retain and develop the best talent.
We believe that a good start makes the journey
more enjoyable. We invest in our people’s career
development, provide guidance and support to
the new hires to help them excel in their career
with us. Through a series of rotations, this program
provides them an opportunity to explore their
potential by offering exposure to multiple roles,
strong ‘on-the-job’ learning support, professional
development and training, global networking and
community-based learning. We aspire to create
memories while our hires flag off their career with
us, and for this we have a line-up of events for
smooth integration of the hire into our ecosystem.
Under our New Hire Buddy Program, each hire
is assigned a buddy who addresses a variety of
topics, shares tips and resources. We also have a
dedicated Mentor Program where the assigned
mentor assists the new hire in building skills. We
have a day-long event New Hire Day that helps in
connecting the new hire with leaders, managers,
mentors and provides insights into what a typical
day with us looks like.
Our structured program called LEAP is essentially
a three-week long accelerated technical training
and onboarding experience involving a series of
classroom and immersive leanings.
We indeed go the last mile to hone the budding
talent. We launched the program Foundry with an
endeavortodevelopandgroomfuturetalenttojoin
Microsoft. The program consists of summer interns
working in teams of 4-5 each, ably supported by
seasoned coaches from our product groups.
Microsoft Academy of College Hires (MACH)
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Empowering
Entrepreneurs
Serving
Communities
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Responsibly
6.2. Programs for the Employees
We believe in holistic well-being of everyone at
Microsoft India. To keep the vigor up, we keep
organizing events round the year.
We organized ‘Race within the Race’ – a marathon
event for our employees in Hyderabad. To
rejuvenate the employees, we have fun and
entertaining ‘Happy Hour’ sessions.
The annual Bring Your Child to Work custom
welcomes children of our employees to be a part
of the regular office day. Through this initiative,
children are introduced to the excitement of
technology and fun at the same time.
We have organized the Management Excellence
Community (MEC) which is a peer-driven
community of managers who have come together
to learn and share best management practices
from each other and to drive common learning
agendas for the community members. ‘Garage’ is
yet another initiative through which we encourage
employees to hone their creative side. Our
‘Guardian’ app, aimed at promoting women safety,
is the result of incubation in ‘Garage’. XpressionZ
provides a stage to the theatre enthusiasts, and
Cricket Hungama and Soccer Mania are for sport
enthusiasts. We also support Employee Resource
Groups(ERGs)andEmployeeNetworks(ENs)which
provide cultural awareness and social networking,
and are linked to the overall business goals of the
organization. Members voluntarily work together
and serve as internal resources to ensure that
diverse perspectives are included in business
operations, marketing and product development
activities. These organizations provide support in
career development, networking opportunities,
mentoring, community participation, product input,
and assistance in activities that promote cultural
awareness.
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6.3. Programs for the Employees
Our approach to gender diversity is at two distinct levels. Internally, we ensure greater representation
of women across all levels in the organization from new hires to senior management. At the same
time, we seek to impact the ecosystem at large by influencing and empowering more and more
women to make technology as their preferred career choice.
Microsoft for Her Springboard
We endeavor to recognize the huge untapped
pool of talent and an initiative to channelize the
value ‘women on a sabbatical’ could possibly
bring to a corporate. This is an exclusive career
re-connect initiative through a unique program
designed to make the transition back into the
corporate world, easily and smoothly. It is a
comprehensive program designed to provide
quality projects with flexible work arrangements.
Women in IT
Our WIT community strives to attract,
develop, and retain talented women within the
organization. This community works with the
mission to cultivate a diverse work environment
that attracts, develops, advances and retains
talented women. This community specially strives
for the female workforce to grow as technologists
and business leaders. The WIT initiatives, driven
by women themselves, make it a woman-friendly
workplace.
We recognize that diversity gains will not be
sustained if the work environment does not
promote behaviors that encourage new ways of
problem-solving and reward diversity of thought.
We provide our leaders with cultural competency
training, diversity and inclusion best practice
management strategies and offer employees
ample opportunities to network and build key
stakeholder relationships, thereby fostering a
culture of inclusive behavior.
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6.3. Benefits and Support
We make and sustain efforts towards work-life balance of our employees. Access to the latest software
and tools from remote locations, extended training resources, medical insurance and relocation
program are some of the initiatives to ensure healthy work-life balance for our employees. Our compensation and benefits policy is a
crucial instrument in our effort to attract and
retain industry’s top talent. Consequently, our
compensation and benefits policy centers on
‘Pay for Performance’ and is conscientiously
agnostic to hierarchy. Every full-time employee
at Microsoft is eligible for an amalgam of rewards
that comprises of base pay, performance bonus,
stock awards and benefits. This is supplemented
with various life-stage benefits – such as child
care, tuition assistance, vehicle lease, and
relocation - that an employee can opt for if such
a need surfaces.
Aside from monetary contributions, individual
preferences take prominence. Through flexible
work timings, options to work from home and
teleworking, we encourage employees to balance
work and life for we believe, a happy employee
is a productive employee. In the same vein, we
keep employees stress free by supporting them
in taking care of their loved ones. Each employee
can customize his or her employment benefit
to suit personal requirements – such as elderly
care, child support, and tuition assistance.
Aligned to our employee-centric policies,
we have doubled the maternity leave for our
women employees to six months from February
1 2016. This is in addition to the option of unpaid
leave for up to three months and flexible work
hours for up to two years. We also recognize
the importance of bond that new fathers share
with their babies. To support the same, all the
male employees are eligible for two weeks of
paternity leave. Additionally, to care for adopted
children, mothers are eligible for eight calendar
weeks of paid leave and fathers are eligible for
two weeks of paid leave.
6.3.1. Compensation and Benefits
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6.4. Benefits and Support
We believe in inducing a culture of wellness
amongouremployees. Whileourcomprehensive
benefits policy covers employees and their
family members on health and accident cover,
we continue to encourage employees to keep fit
and stay fit.
Livewell365, an employee wellness portal,
was initiated by Microsoft India in June 2014.
This portal serves as a single point destination
for everything related to health and wellness.
By answering the online questionnaire on
biometrics, an employee can gauge his/ her
health risk online at any given time.
We sponsor an annual executive health checkup
for our employees. On-site diagnostics camps
held at our offices enable employees to have
private checkup and consultation with a doctor.
Microsoft CARES acts as a confidential counseling
6.3.2. Employee Wellness and Safety
service that equips our employees to meet life’s
challenges in a more mature and balanced
manner. Professional counselors from Microsoft
CARES assist the people in developing the
necessary coping skills to help them maintain
the emotional balance in their lives
We have a sabbatical program called Microsoft
Achievement Awards (MSAA) that allows us to
retain and revitalize eligible employees who, by
virtue of their high-level positions, experience,
and proven performance, would be difficult
to replace. It is our belief that MSAA fosters
retention by enabling employees to avoid
burnout. Initiatives like Wall of Fame, Morale
Cup and Send a Kudos try to keep the work
environment healthy. Acts of appreciation help
in keeping the team motivated and letting
them know that their hard work is truly valued.
6.3.3. Culture of Appreciation
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