Sikka meets PM; dedicates $250 million to innovate in India

Infosys will also develop software for managing the Kumbh Mela scheduled in Ujjain in 2016

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and disclosed that his company will spend $250 million (over Rs 1,500 crore) to fund innovations in software and services in India.

The chief of India's second largest IT services firm also discussed with Modi ways in which the company can participate in the Prime Minister's vision of smart and digitally empowered India.

Infosys will develop software for managing the kumbh mela scheduled in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) in 2016, he told PTI in an interview.

Sikka, the first non-founder CEO of Infosys, said Modi has agreed to dedicate the company's Mysore campus as the first model smart city in the country in April this year.

"Today, I had a meeting with the Prime Minister. We had a talk on smart cities, smart infrastructure, which is close to his heart.

"And the other big area is innovation. PM has a vision for innovation. As announced last week, we have a $500 million Innovation Fund. Of this, we have decided that half of this, which is a little over Rs 1,500 crore, will be dedicated to just innovation in India. We will call it Innovate in India," Sikka said.

On smart cities, he said Infosys campuses are one of the most amazing places in the world. They are green and energy efficient and work as smart units.

"Our Mysore campus is a small smart city. It has 30,000 people living and working there at any given day. We are going to make our Mysore campus the first model smart city and the PM has very graciously accepted our invitation to the Mysore campus and dedicate it to the nation in April," he added.

Spread over 350 acres, Infosys' Mysore campus, which also houses its university, has more than 200,000 trees and is energy-efficient.