MS rolls out Project Vikas

Project Vikas, an initiative by Microsoft and NMCC, in partnership with the
Tirupur Exporter's Association (TEA) was formally rolled out in Tirupur. Project
Vikas has helped create opportunities in the areas of market access, knowledge
net-works, and enablement of supply chain linkages in the cluster ecosystem.

The key announcement made was the inauguration of the E-Readiness Center (ERC)
and launch of the TEA portal. These initiatives are being implemented to help
the local manufacturers and exporters achieve manifold objectives. The ERC will
provide technical training, consulting services, business incubation services,
and knowledge sharing platforms to the SMEs, enabling them to manage and grow
their businesses. In addition, the portal (www.tea-india.org), linked to the
national portal of NMCC (http://nmcc-vikas.gov.in) will enable them to reach out
to the cluster audience beyond geographical boundaries and make a footprint in
the global ecosystem.

"Project Vikas will incubate and nurture an ecosystem of ISVs to ensure ICT
support that is available to the cluster. We will also invest in skills transfer
via our 4,000 partners. We are also running pilot projects of similar nature in
other manufacturing clusters including auto and leather," Rajeev Mittal, GM,
Microsoft India said.