Noida, Feb 17 (IANS): To further tap engineering talent in India, Microsoft on Monday announced the launch of its third India Development Centre (IDC) in Noida, after opening two such premier engineering and innovation hubs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

The IDC-NCR will open opportunities for thousands of engineers, said the company, with plans to expand to a full-fledged development centre similar to the other two facilities.

"We have built a strong engineering presence in India over the past two decades and we are excited to be expanding to Noida. Our deep commitment to the region will help us further Microsoft's mission to empower every individual and every organization on the planet to achieve more," said Kurt DelBene, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Core Services Engineering and Operations, and the Chairman of the IDC Advisory Board.

The IDC-NCR will be home to Microsoft's engineering teams across various technology groups, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and research group, Cloud and enterprise group and experience and devices Group, along with core services engineering and operations.

It will also house "Mixer", Microsoft's live-streaming gaming platform team, thus becoming the first centre to host the gaming team outside the company headquarters in Redmond, Washington State.

"We are excited to tap into the engineering talent available in this part of the country to create a truly pioneering organization that will build innovative solutions for global impact," said Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director, Microsoft India Research & Development Pvt Ltd.

With this addition, the India Development Centre will have teams across all engineering divisions from Microsoft.

First set up in Hyderabad in 1998, the development centre drives Microsoft's strategy of globally shared development to build products and services.