In October and software major Microsoft India will train a group of Tirupur exporters in reaching out to customers through e-mail and well-crafted export documentation. The aim is to make Tamil Nadu's textile and apparel clusters IT-friendly and give it a global edge over the next couple of years.

Microsoft has also taken up manufacturing clusters in Ahmedabad (pharmaceuticals) and Pune (automotive components) under its $15 million-project, Vikas, which took off during chairman Bill Gates' visit to India in 2005.

The project aims at addressing the `soft' challenges of India's small and medium enterprises sector. On offer are customised IT solutions that will cover 25 clusters over the next five years. In Tirupur, Exporters Association president A. Sakthivel said they were looking forward to developing the cluster using IT wherever possible, particularly if it helped in cutting costs. Microsoft's head of SME cluster development Anil Varghese said his team had identified the macro-level challenges faced by entrepreneurs.

The initiative would help Tirupur exporters share the `best practices' with their Ludhiana counterparts through information technology.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/