Microsoft to bring low-cost broadband to 500,000 Indian villages

The Indian Government's Digital India initiative has received a major boost as software giant Microsoft has announced that it plans to work with the former to bring cheap broadband technology to 500,000 villages in the country.

"We believe that lost-cost broad band connectivity coupled with the scale of cloud computing intelligence that can be harnessed from data can help drive creativity, efficiency and productivity across governments and businesses of all sizes," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella while speaking at a dinner hosted in honour of Indian PM Narendra Modi.

The partnership could prove to be a game changer for India, where around 70% of the population lives in over 600,000 villages.

Nadella also said that the Redmond, Washington-based company will announce the availability of its cloud services operating out of the Asian country's data centers.

"A key part of both Make in India and Digital India, bringing world class infrastructure into India, respecting India's digital security, sovereignty and privacy is a key milestone for us," he added.

The announcement from Microsoft comes after Google announced its plans to deliver high-speed public Wi-Fi in 400 train station across India.

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