MIcrosoft Certification

its important cause no matter how good ur resume, if theres no certification, it always raises doubts in the employers mind. trust me, i am talking from experience.

It is helpful if you actually work towards it.  And yes, there are other benefits other than just being certified that comes along with such programs.

Yes i do believe in certification as i am a also one of Microsoft Certified and it really help's specially when you are at the initial stage of your career.... 

I do believe that its essential nowadays

There is always been a big debate when it comes to certification, Because there are many who are really good at what they do and don't need any certification at all, because some where a 17-18yr old students who are still in college will be making huge money in a year as a consultant because he or she is just that good at assembly language code. And yet the guy with the bachelor's degree and all those certifications is getting much lesser than these kids, but then that comes down to how good one really is in what they are doing, But I think Certification is good and also the partnership from Microsoft, and in India recently they have launched their services to SMB's here, where one can avail their products for as less as $2 per month. And this is a really good which can bring down the IT costs drastically.