The Economic Times, Nov 20, 2002, pg 10

<quote> MP tells Gates it prefers Linux

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh, with it's mantra of IT for masses is all set to go the Linux way. Chief Minister Digvijay Singh personally conveyed this message to Microsoft boss Bill Gates during their interaction last week in New Delhi. Madhya Pradesh has thus become the first Indian state to make a definitive choice in favour of open source software in the government system. "For us it is not a question of Microsoft versus Linux. We have nothing against Microsoft or Mr Bill Gates. It's just a matter of choosing between a free software and a monopoly. We feel that when we are putting public information out in the open, then it should not be through a proprietary software," Mr Singh told ET. </unquote>