US tech giant Microsoft has struck another land deal in Pune, Maharashtra to further strengthen its presence in India. This time the company has bought 16.4 acres of land, which costs Rs 519.72 crore. This land is located in Hinjewadi, a prime area of Pune, and has been purchased from Indo Global Infotech City.
Microsoft’s Indian arm, Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Limited, has paid stamp duty of Rs 31.18 crore and registration fee of Rs 30,000 for the land. The agreement between Microsoft and Indo Global Infotech City was signed on August 20 and registered with the state on September 6. The details of the deal have been revealed through registration documents of Square Yards, a real estate and mortgage portal.
Indo Global Infotech City is a partnership firm run by Rina Sanjeev Arora, Radhika Manoj Hingorani, Sanjeev Chamanlal Arora, Manoj Navalraj Hingorani and Harish Manoj Hingorani. This information has been provided by Jauba Corp, a portal providing information on businesses.
Hinjewadi is a suburb of Pune where many tech companies and business parks are located. Infosys was one of the first companies to set up offices in Hinjewadi during the IT boom. The area was developed by the IT industry in the late 1990s, and now the area is thriving with young people working in IT and business parks, high-class restaurants, lounges, clothing stores, malls and multiplexes.
About two years ago, in October 2022, Microsoft bought 25 acres of land in Pimpri-Chinchwad, another suburb of Pune, for Rs 328 crore. Earlier this year, the global tech giant spent Rs 267 crore for 48 acres of land in Hyderabad. Currently, Microsoft has a presence in 10 cities in India, including Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Gurugram, New Delhi, Noida and Kolkata. The company claims to have over 23,000 employees in these cities, engaged in sales, marketing, research, development, customer services and support systems.
Outside its Redmond headquarters in Washington, US, Microsoft’s largest software development centre is in Hyderabad, India, called the Microsoft India Development Center. In February, during a visit to Mumbai, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella announced a skilling initiative in India that aims to train 2 million people in AI skills by 2025. Called ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA, the initiative will focus on training people in India’s tier 2 and 3 cities as well as rural areas.
