Microsoft-owned GitHub bets big on Indian developers, students

Microsoft-owned open source developer platform GitHub on Friday announced a slew of initiatives for developers, students and startups in India, including open source grants worth Rs 1 crore and a partnership with Nasscom to reskill professionals.

The company also introduced fellowships for students with companies in India and extended its enterprise licenses to over 1,000 new startups in the country.

In 2020, more than 1.8 million developers in India joined GitHub, taking the developer community in the country to 5.8 million.

“For us, India is the fastest growing country in the world for GitHub. We have some incredible female leaders on the open source platform from the country who are developing for the world. By the third anniversary of GitHub India, in February 2023, we believe more than 10 million developers in India will be calling GitHub home,” Erica Brescia, Chief Operating Officer, GitHub, told IANS.

“Together, Indian developers created 7.3 million new repositories over the past year, an increase of 81 per cent compared to the year before. One million developers in India created their first repository on GitHub this past year, more than any other country in the world,” she informed.

Companies such as Infosys, InMobi, Udaan, ShareChat, Capillary Technologies, Swiggy, ArisGlobal and several others have selected GitHub to collaborate and build the software that powers their businesses, accelerating digital transformation.

As GitHub continues to grow its developer community in India, the company, during its two-day ‘GitHub Satellite India’ virtual event that kicked off on Friday, said it has introduced three new programmes for India: GitHub Open Source Grants, GitHub Externships, and GitHub Accelerate.

To support the growing community of student developers in the country, the ‘GitHub Externships’ will help connect the dots between open source, the next generation of software developers and successful companies.

In 2020, GitHub saw the number of students participating in the GitHub Campus programme increase by a massive 142 per cent.

“Indian developers are truly building the future of software and the country is uniquely positioned to continue to drive innovation that accelerates human progress,” said Maneesh Sharma, Country Manager, GitHub India.

“We, at GitHub, are humbled to serve and celebrate this community connected by code and it is a privilege to be part of this incredible journey, empowering the developer community and businesses in India, to build the technology that is driving the nation’s growth,” Sharma added.

In 2020, GitHub had more than 100 higher education institutions join its educational programme, supported by 74 campus experts.

The company said that its ‘GitHub Accelerate’ programme will now be expanded to more than 1,000 new startups.

GitHub also announced a partnership with the Nasscom ‘FutureSkills’ programme.

The company will extend its ‘GitHub Campus’ programme and ‘Student Developer Pack’ to students, educators and institutes that are part of the Nasscom’s university initiatives.

In June 2018, Microsoft acquired GitHub, a popular code-repository service used by many developers and large companies, for $7.5 billion in stock.