Sabeer Bhatia, the co-founder of Hotmail.com, has expressed his keenness to collaborate with Bengal government for his new venture JaxtrSMS. The state government may receive a shot in the arm in the field of technology if it accepts the proposal.
JaxtrSMS is a mobile application that enables users to send unlimited free SMSes to any other phone. So far, Bhatia has not partnered with any other state government in the country. If the deal is struck, it will help the state government in three levels of text-based communications - sending SMS between government to government, government to citizens and also from citizens to government.
Speaking to TOI, Bhatia said, "I have given one IT-related proposal to the government. It is regarding JaxtrSMS only. The state government officials will get back to me after they go through it." He had a meeting with the state IT officials for almost an hour on Tuesday. Bhatia is expected to customize the product according to the need of the state government.
Asked what will be his implementation plans in the state, Bhatia said it is premature to talk about it. IT principal secretary Basudeb Banerjee also declined to comment on this.
Through JaxtrSMS, a mobile phone user can send a text SMS to any mobile phone in the world without requiring the receiver to have the JaxtrSMS application installed in the phone. This feature of JaxtrSMS distinguishes it from other free mobile messaging applications where messages can only be sent within a closed network to people who also have the same app installed.
The user can also retain the old number while signing up for the JaxtrSMS service.
According to sources, Bhatia has also spoken about virtual PBX (private automatic branch exchange), where the PBX itself will be within the cloud. He feels this will ensure deduction of expenses every month in government offices.
The IT wizard was roped in by Trinamool Congress during the last assembly polls to help the party campaign in the cyber space. Derek O'Brien - who is in charge of Trinamool Congress's website - had then asked Bhatia to guide the party's cyber team.
Regarding his perception of the state IT industry, Bhatia said, "The state government is very new. It will take some time to really bring in more IT companies over here. But I think they should start a programme of incubating ideas and encourage entrepreneurs to be a part of the state. There are lots of bright people over here. If they (state government) encourage entrepreneurs to start a company that will obviously help bring IT to the state."
Talking about the talent pool available in Bengal, Bhatia said, "People over here are very educated. They are quite talented."
