Andhra Pradesh Government has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with tech giant Microsoft India on various technology initiatives for governance.
The MoU was signed after a meeting between the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella in Hyderabad, Telangana.
The technology provided by the Microsoft would be utilized by state government to check school dropouts, improve agricultural productivity and providing better citizen services.
Key features of MoU:
- The MoU seeks to improve use of Information and communications technology (ICT) drive for digital inclusion and provide better IT-based services to citizens.
- For digital inclusion Microsoft India will provide technical knowledge to Andhra Pradesh Government and support building three proof-of-concept (PoC) solutions.
- PoC solutions would be supported by applying Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Visualization method in the fields of agriculture, eCitizen services and education.
- These solutions would use the lab method for data gathering, analysis, predictive analysis and policy planning which would be built and deployed to address specific problems within each of the fields to achieve better outcomes for the State.
- The company will set up a Centre for Excellence (CoE) in Visakhapatnam to train state Government’s key IT executives.
According to the MoU, Microsoft India will apply Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Visualization to predict and address specific problems in the fields of education, agriculture and eCitizen services.
Meanwhile, the state government has requested Microsoft to help set up a Centre of Excellence in Vishakhapatnam. Mr Nadella, whose family hails from Andhra Pradesh, promised to visit native Anantapur District during his next visit.
In August 2015, as part of the ‘Badi Pilusthondi’ (The School is Calling) initiative launched by the Chief Minister, the government and Microsoft had announced a Cloud-based Machine Learning solution in the field of education using Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Tools and Power BI. The project was implemented on pilot in Chittoor district. The project is aimed at analyzing existing data to predict and reduce school dropouts post grade X through early detection, timely intervention and appropriate corrective measures.
Today’s agreement builds further on the Education pilot and underlines the commitment of the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Microsoft India to establishing a technologically advanced, knowledge-based economy.
Continuing its commitment to support the Government’s initiatives for Cloud adoption and improve citizen services, Microsoft India will also provide training to the State Government’s executives on Microsoft technologies such as Cloud, Mobility and appropriate Microsoft Technology stack. The company will organize an exclusive workshop to the government’s key administrative officers in improving productivity by using Microsoft technologies.