Marking a transformation with the first of its kind contributions to India, Google announced funding Rs. 75,000 crore to India for accelerating its economy on Monday.
The Chief Executive Officer of Google, Sundar Pichai declared the same through a tweet and said that the company is “proud to support” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a digital India.
The multinational company ascertained that the funds would be provided amid a span of five to seven years through equity, investments, operational partnerships, and tie-ups with Indians.
The CEO’s tweet read as, “Today at #GoogleForIndia we announced a new $10B digitization fund to help accelerate India’s digital economy. We’re proud to support PM @narendramodi’s vision for Digital India – many thanks to Minister @rsprasad & Minister @DrRPNishank for joining us.”
https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/1282598821504016386
PM Modi and the 48-year old Indo-American Google CEO had a virtual meeting on Monday morning to discuss technology and work culture.
During the annual ‘Google for India’ event, Mr. Pichai mentioned that the company’s funding marks its confidence in India’s future and its digital success. He further said that the invested money will emphasize four fields vital for India’s digitization.
“First, enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, whether it’s Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other. Second, building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs. Third, empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation. Fourth, leveraging technology and AI for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture,” the company said in its statement.
It continued saying that while hardly one-third of all small business houses in India chose the digital arena and marked their presence 4 years back, now 26 million small and midsize businesses (SMBs) can be found on Search and Maps, driving connections which have over 150 million users every month.
Mr Pichai highlighted the initiatives already undertaken by Google in India – such as rural awareness program Internet Saathi, online payment platform Google Pay and AI-powered tutor app Read-Along.
“Our goal is to ensure India not only benefits from the next wave of innovation, but leads it,” the statement read.
Early on Monday morning, the PM had tweeted regarding the “fruitful meeting” between him and Mr. Pichai. He said that the interaction included discussions about using the technology as an advantage to redesign the lives and work processes of farmers, entrepreneurs and the youth.
The tweet said, “This morning, had an extremely fruitful interaction with @sundarpichai. We spoke on a wide range of subjects, particularly leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India’s farmers, youngsters and entrepreneurs,” to which Mr. Pichai replied saying, “Thank you for your time, PM @narendramodi – very optimistic about your vision for Digital India and excited to continue our work towards it. Later today we’ll share our next steps on that journey at #GoogleForIndia.” https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1282582190061047808
According to a representative from the PM’s office, Narendra Modi during the interaction “remarked that India is amongst the most open economies in the world”.
Moreover, the Prime Minister “discussed the issue of data security and concerns around privacy,” adding that “tech companies need to put in efforts to bridge the trust deficit”.
