Oracle Inks Pact With Jharkhand, Says No Investment Cap Set

US tech giant Oracle has inked a pact with the Jharkhand government to drive digital transformation in the state and said it has not set any limits for technological investments.

The visiting CEO of Oracle Corporation, Safra A Catz, said technologies from Oracle are bound to drive digitisation in India, its second largest base after the US.

“The initial investment is unbounded. We have not bounded the investment in any way. It will be related to the amount of success going forward. We have not put a cap on it,” Catz said.

Oracle had signed a similar agreement with the government of Maharashtra in April last year and expects more states to join the list.

"The investment is unbounded. We have not bound the investments in any way...we have not put a cap on it," Catz, who is on a three-day visit to India, said adding that Oracle will support start-ups in the state.

She was speaking to media after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Jharkhand government for jointly exploring and identifying areas in which Oracles latest cloud based technologies can be used to deliver improved citizens services.

She further added that Oracle has nearly 40,000 employees in India and it is their second largest base behind the USA which shows their commitment and the opportunity they have to advance in the country.

The scope of the agreement signed between the government of Jharkhand and Oracle includes investment in training through the Oracle Academy, developing incubation centres for startups, developing prototypes and applications that will help citizens in accessing various services among others.

Catz said, “We are very excited about working together and using technology for governance, citizenship and bringing transparency.” The CEO also informed that she will visit the eastern state in her next visit and see how things are working on ground.

Raghubar Das, chief minister of Jharkhand said that the state wants to be top choice with global companies for investments. The CM also asked Oracle to open an innovation centre in the state.

“We want our youth to be skilled in the field of technology so that their talent can come to the fore not just in India but also globally,” he said adding that Oracle’s expertise will help them to remove corruption and middlemen from the system.