The worlds leading computer software service provider, Microsoft has officially launched a new project named the Project Vikas on Wednesday. The officials from the company have informed that the principal objectives behind launching the project is to extend IT support to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The officials also said that the company has launched the project in collaboration with the National Manufacturing Competitive Council and the German Technical Corporation (GTZ).
When contacted and asked about the Project Vikas, the Project Head, Mr. Anil Verghese said, "The objective of Vikas is to improve competitiveness of SMEs through offering IT solutions for operations and innovations". He said that the project was first launched in the year of 2006 and it is now being implemented in about 10 SME clusters across the country. The clusters include Tirupur (textiles), Ahmedabad (pharmaceuticals) and Pune (automobiles). He further said that it would identify the SME-suitable solutions like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and facilitate implementation, however, it would not provide any financial support.
While talking about the new Project Vikas, the Project Manager, GTZ SME Financing and Development Programme, Mr. N. Gurumurthy said that the agency was working on roping in more banks. The main reason behind roping in the banks was to extend financial support for IT implementation. In his words, "We have just concluded talks with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) which has almost agreed to extend financial support to SMEs here in this regard". The sources from the Indian economic industry have stated that with this initiative from Microsoft, a number of around 300 small and medium pharmaceuticals units in the Hyderabad Pharma Cluster would be able to look for improving their operational efficiency and innovation through Information Technology (IT).
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| Posted : 1/25/2008 |
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