Global software major Microsoft is planning to go local. It will be tying up with a hardware manufacturer here to invade homes with Internet-enabled personal computers for Rs 300-Rs 400 per month.

Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Microsoft Corporation (India), shared the company?s ?people?s PC? programme for the state after his meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Friday evening.

?We want to bridge the digital divide and that can only be done through low-cost PCs. Our company deals in software and so we have to depend on some hardware manufacturer. We are in touch with some local companies and will take a decision shortly,? Venkatesan told Metro at Writers? Buildings.

The Left Front government?s seat of governance saw more business action on Friday, with officials from the Hinduja Group meeting chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb and commerce and industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen.

J.N. Chatterjee, group president (finance), Hinduja Group India, and Soumyadip Chowdhury, from IndusInd Bank, discussed investment prospects in Bengal.

?The group showed sustained interest in the IT, automobile, pharmaceuticals and engineering tools sectors. They also want to participate in our proposed chemical hub at Haldia. Specialised teams from the group will visit the state now to firm up projects in individual fields,? said Sen.

While the Hinduja plans are yet to take concrete shape, Microsoft has got down to project details. In his 30-minute interaction with the chief minister, Venkatesan tabled the company?s plans for the state.

The commitment to set up an IT academy to train trainers was reiterated, as was the plan for a Bhasha laboratory to facilitate development of software applications in Bengali.

?The IT industry is growing at a rate of over 120 per cent in the state and we need manpower to sustain that growth. So, we need quality teachers and Microsoft has promised to set up the academy soon,? Bhattacharjee said after the meeting. ?I have asked them to send a detailed proposal in a week?s time.?

Microsoft has also agreed to broaden the scope of its training initiatives in the state. ?Not just in schools, we want them to get involved in higher education and train teachers in polytechnics, colleges and universities,? stressed the chief minister.

The company has earmarked a Rs 100-crore-plus fund to set up such academies across the country and has already entered training mode in states like Uttaranchal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

?The response has been phenomenal and we want to start it in Bengal ASAP,? said Venkatesan, who called on IT minister Manab Mukherjee in the morning.

Mukherjee urged the Microsoft team to consider Calcutta for its third development centre in the country, after Bangalore and Hyderabad. Venkatesan agreed to keep the city in mind while planning the company?s next round of expansion.