Indian government wants Microsoft to offer Windows 10 upgrades at a lower price for the entire country

Following the recent ransomware attacks, the Indian government is pressing Microsoft to offer upgrades to Windows 10 at a lower price for the entire country. On Friday, Reuters reported that the Indian government has been in talks with Microsoft India officials since the WannaCry ransomware attack. Gulshan Rai, National Cyber Security Adviser to the Indian government said in a statement that the government is expecting Microsoft to offer Windows 10, which currently retails for 7,999 rupees ($124), at “throw-away prices.”

Rai later clarified that users will get a one-time upgrade offer, and the lower price would be available to the entire country which currently has more than 50 million Windows users, according to Reuters. As to how much the upgrade would cost isn’t known yet, but Rai expects it to be “less than a quarter of the current price.” More details regarding the price cut are expected to be revealed in detail in the next couple of days.

[shunno-quote align=”right”]Microsoft tried a better discount in the past[/shunno-quote]

Chances of the discounted upgrade price getting people to upgrade to Windows 10 is pretty low, to be frank. That’s because Microsoft has already offered existing free Windows 10 upgrades to existing Windows users for free in the past but the majority of Windows users are still running older versions of Windows.  Some of these users avoided upgrading to Windows 10 due to the initial privacy and reliability concerns, most of which Microsoft has already addressed in latest versions of Windows 10.

The push from the Indian government is actually coming following the recent ransomware attacks. The government has reportedly worked with banks to ensure 200,000 ATMs around the country are using the latest security patches released by Microsoft for Windows XP but Rai says this is “just an interim solution.”

Rai told Reuters that Microsoft India’s officials have already “in principle agreed” to the government’s request but the deal could cost Microsoft several billion, according to the publication.