Offers cloud credits of up to USD 25,000 to winning B2B projects
New Delhi, August 23, 2018 – To foster technology-led innovation to address societal challenges, Microsoft India is supporting NITI Aayog in MoveHack, a global mobility hackathon inviting solutions, prototypes and ideas to address challenges faced by India in mobility and transportation. As cloud partner for the hackathon, Microsoft will offer Azure cloud credits of up to USD 25,000 to winners who build B2B solutions, in addition to USD 200 worth of Azure credits to every participant. According to NITI Aayog, the hackathon, which was launched on 1st August 2018, has received more than 35,000 registrations so far from over 25 countries.
Additionally, Microsoft Research (MSR) India will consider incubating and offer funding and/or resource support to winners who leverage AI to build their solutions. This will be a part of a new incubation program started by MSR, wherein the organization is working with academia, government and entrepreneurs to help incubate technologies for societal impact, with special emphasis on cloud and AI platforms. Funding will be determined individually for each project that meets the selection criteria; based on the scope of the project and associated resource requirements.
Commenting on the partnership, Keshav Dhakad, Group Head & Assistant General Counsel, Corporate, External & Legal Affairs (CELA), Microsoft India, said, “It is our privilege to be part of MoveHack. The entire country is going through a disruptive phase of digital transformation, with AI being integral to India’s economic and societal progress. Through our partnership with NITI Aayog, we collectively aim to enable the resolution of most pressing social challenges via large scale deployment of cloud & AI led innovations. Our support to MoveHack is part of this collaboration and we believe that solutions incubated through this program will contribute to the nation’s transformation in a meaningful way.”
NITI Aayog’s MoveHack is a global mobility hackathon which invites innovative, dynamic and scalable solutions improve to mobility and transportation in India. Open to participants of all nationalities, it is divided into two categories: Just Code It and Just Solve It. While the former is focused at solutions based on innovations in technology/product/software and data analysis, the latter is for innovative business ideas or sustainable solutions to transform mobility infrastructure through technology. Awards for the hackathon include recognizing the top 10 winners with a total prize of more than INR 2 crore. In addition, what sets this hackathon apart is the unique opportunity it provides for end-to-end integration of solutions in smart cities, States and Central Ministries through commercial implementation. Problem themes include multimodal commuter mobility in cities, multimodal freight handling and transportation, road safety and future of mobility, among others. More details of the hackathon can be found here.
About Microsoft India
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 8,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research and development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local datacenters to accelerate digital transformation across Indian start-ups, businesses, and government agencies. In 2016, Microsoft opened one of its eight Cyber Security Engagement Centers in the country, to address security needs of both public and private sectors.
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