Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
Mr Nadella, who became the company’s third CEO on Tuesday, was born and grew up in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad and studied at Mangalore University before moving to the US to further his studies and career.
"India makes a power point," said a proud front-page headline of the Times of India newspaper about the cricket lover’s appointment.
"India has clearly emerged as the talent machine that is consistently churning out global CEOs."
Mr Nadella, who has spent nearly half his life working for the technology titan, follows a string of Indian-origin business leaders who have made it to prestigious CE positions. They include Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo and Ajay Banga at Mastercard, while Vikram Pandit ran Citibank until late 2012. Further afield, Anshu Jain is head of German banking giant Deutsche Bank.
Uttam Majumdar, founder of Locuz Enterprise Solutions, a technology firm based in Hyderabad, told AFP Mr Nadella’s appointment was "a matter of immense pride".
"He can be a role model for millions of youngsters. His appointment enhances the image of India as a nation in the eyes of the world."
Vibhor Singhal, a Mumbai-based executive at brokerage PhillipCapital India, said a key reason for the success of Indian-origin executives was the "openness of the US economy in terms of accepting and allowing talent from outside to rise to the top".
Vikram Dhawan, director of investments at financial research firm Equentis Research, said proficiency in English "also gives Indians an edge over the competition".
The South Asian nation produces about 1-million engineering graduates a year and has earned a reputation for its booming information technology outsourcing business, thanks to its large educated workforce and low labour costs.
Many bright, middle-class youngsters leave the country due to a lack of well-paid jobs and difficulty in getting places at the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).
In some cases, studying in the US is a choice for those who fail to gain entry to the institutes where competition is fierce for limited places.
"Is the appointment of Satya Nadella a feather in India’s cap or a slap in the face for the Indian system?" asked an editorial on the Firstpost online news portal.
It suggested that, rather than celebrate Mr Nadella, India should ask why so many talented figures flower overseas instead of at home, where family connections are often as important as qualifications.
Outside corporate boardrooms, Indian-origin families have thrived in the US. A 2012 report from the US think-tank Pew Research Center showed the median annual income for Indian Americans was $88,000, higher than the Asian American average of $66,000 and the overall US household median of $49,800.
Among Indian Americans aged 25 and older, 70% had obtained at least a bachelor’s degree, above the Asian American share at 49% and far higher than the national 28%, the study said.
Nadella faces the challenge of revitalising Microsoft in the mobile internet era, and some hope his knowledge of the Indian market could help boost opportunities for those in the industry at home.
"One of the best that the East had to offer was embraced by the West on Tuesday, and back home there are great expectations that the winds of change will blow here as well," said The Economic Times.
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