The Hindu Business Line : Microsoft India to file for 70 patents

MICROSOFT India is set to file for 70 patents this fiscal, as the software major is making innovation part of its overall growth strategy in the country.

"Last fiscal, Microsoft India filed for 40 patents. We expect this number to grow to 70," the Managing Director of Microsoft India (R&D), Mr Srini Koppolu, said.

"We say this with certainty because we work on milestones and allocate funds for patents. In fact, if we hit upon new innovations, which we are constantly working on, they could also find a place in filings this year," he said while speaking at the Microsoft One India meet. The event brought together heads of research, sales and marketing and global support. India is perceived to be playing a more central role for the software major. It is working towards creating a Microsoft ecosystem that already has over 6,50,000 developers in India, its second largest in the world.

The Chairman of Microsoft Corporation India, Mr Ravi Venkatesan, said, "Microsoft has grown from strength to strength in India to a 3,000 people team across business streams and is entering a distinct phase — what we would like to describe as realising the potential driven by innovation."

"This innovation is from India, for India and for the world too. If India does become an economic superpower, we would like to be part of this growth story driven by creation of an ecosystem for innovation. We expect the overall headcount to grow past the 4,000-mark this year," he explained.

Researchers from Hyderabad and Bangalore centres showcased some of their latest innovations. These include a multi-user mice system where several children can work on the same PC, a Virtual India site, and the strides made in mobile computing and radio frequency identification.