India is 'relatively under-computerised' with only 4 million personal computers, as against China where the penetration of PCs stood at around 18 million, Microsoft Corporation Chief Executive Officer Steven A Ballmer said.

However, the country is making giant strides on the software front, especially with "innovations reigning everywhere," Ballmer said in his address at Unlocking Innovations, a show held jointly by CNBC-TV18 and Microsoft in Mumbai on Tuesday night.

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Thirty per cent of the world's graduates in software are from India and a big part of the talent responsible for innovation is from this country's universities, he said.

"Software is where magic happens and India is magic in software," Ballmer added.

"Talent is a natural resource and the country should guard it zealously," he said.

'IT can help remove poverty'

Software, which is the key for economic development of a country, would also play a role in eradicating poverty, Ballmer said.

India's poverty was mainly due to supply chain management issues which could be eliminated by putting in proper software in place. The country produces more food than is required, he quoted a friend as saying, but this does not always reach the needy.

A number of studies have pointed out that the telephone is one of the biggest innovations for creating wealth in the country, he said.

The telephone provides access to information, like the prices of commodities and farm products, enabling farmers to sell their produce at 'competitive rates,' Ballmer said.

These lines (telephones) also provide access to Internet, enabling access of information on land use and rights and other activities around the globe, he said.

'Microsoft to hire hundreds'

On Microsoft, he said that the company was planning to recruit hundreds of software engineers in India in the next 12 months.

At present, the company has employed around 500 employees in India, and the increase would help in raising culture and workmanship in this country.

'No I-Pod from Microsoft'

Commenting on Apple's I-Pod, Ballmer said that Microsoft had no plans to launch a competitive product, as all the features available on the hand-held device would be available on a cellphone in five years.

I-Pod is a digital diary with music and Internet access, apart from accessibilities over Bluetooth and other emerging technologies.

Earlier, introducing the Microsoft CEO, who was his classmate at Stanford Business School, Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh D Ambani said, "India needs innovation on a massive scale."