As a former business journalist, it’s natural for me to be interested in the progress and development of the US-based Microsoft Corporation — the world’s most valuable (market cap: $240 billion or Rs.1080,000 crore) corporate enterprise — since for innovation, project implementation and getting products and services to market, there are few companies in the world which can hold a candle to this Seattle (USA)-based IT software and technologies giant which was incorporated in 1975, shortly before I began a new career in business journalism. At that time I used to write 10,000-15,000 word cover stories for Business India and Businessworld in long-hand, never having taken to the typewriter. It was only in the late 1980s that I became computer savvy and began to use MS Word and later MS Office and Internet Explorer. Since then my productivity has experienced a great leap forward and I have written millions of words giving currency to great ideas and innovations, which may yet transform Indian education by releasing the creative traditions and latent energy of Indian civilization and the world’s largest child and youth population.

Until recently, the raison d’etre and social transformation mission of this globally-unique publication were beyond the comprehension of Indian industry and few corporate leaders were willing to spell out their education initiatives and plans to this hitherto struggling magazine. Therefore while we were aware of Microsoft India’s engagement with Indian education, details of the company’s involvement with this neglected sector of the economy were difficult to access. The reticent, low-profile style adopted by the Indian subsidiary of the US-based parent company for its initiatives in education didn’t help either. Nevertheless we persisted in maintaining a dialogue with this great business enterprise, which has a deserved global reputation for corporate social responsibility, not least because its promoter-chairman William (Bill) Gates has impacted the conscience of the world as arguably the most generous and ambitious philanthropist in global history. Happily our persistence has paid off with the top brass of the company — and particularly Microsoft India’s education leaders and evangelists — sharing information about its growing contribution to Indian education.

Microsoft’s engagement with Indian education is wide, spanning K-12, collegiate and high-end research at the university level. In particular, I am very appreciative of its great contribution of providing free-of-charge ICT (information communication technology) usage training to 512,000 government school teachers in India, to improve learning outcomes in primary and secondary education. Moreover Microsoft has voluntarily essayed numerous other initiatives in the vocational and higher education spaces as well. For further and better particulars, you’ll have to read our first 2011 cover story in this issue, which I hope will inspire Indian corporates and business leaders to engage more seriously with Indian education. It’s high time India Inc became aware that it’s the greatest beneficiary of Indian education, which it needs to nurture to flower.

And in our usual annual round-up special report feature, assistant editor Summiya Yasmeen chronicles the education milestones of 2010 — a year of stasis that promised much but delivered little.