India welcomes Bill Gates
Bill Gates, chairman and founder of Microsoft Corporation, is in India from December 6 to 9, 2005.
This is his fourth visit to India. His itinerary covers meetings with key government officials, business leaders, academicians, industry associations and policy makers.
Gates, who'll be in India along with his wife Melinda, has earlier visited India in 1997, 2000 and 2002. He will spend the first two days of his India trip in Delhi, and then move to Bangalore and Chennai.
Gates' public engagements include a Confederation of Indian Industry-hosted CEOs' Forum in New Delhi on December 7, 2005 and a Developers' Forum in Bangalore on December 9, 2005.
Gates' visit also coincides with the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum, which is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on December 6 and 7.
Gates is also likely to visit Chennai on December 8, making it his first visit to the city. Minister of IT and communications, Dayanidhi Maran had convinced Gates to visit Chennai when he had called on Bill Gates in September. Reports also said that he might make a swift visit to Kolkata too.
During Maran's meeting with Gates in September at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters, the IT giant's initiatives in e-governance and e-learning were discussed. Initiatives in this direction are likely to be announced during his visit.
Gates is also likely to discuss the Linux (free alternative to Microsoft's proprietary Windows operating system) threat with government leaders. Several government departments in India use Linux, instead of Windows, which is a cause of concern for Microsoft.
INSET: The Original Microsoft Team -- Top row: Steve Wood (left), Bob Wallace, Jim Lane. Middle row: Bob O'Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Gordon Letwin. Bottom row: Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood, Paul Allen. December 7, 1978.
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