Technology giant Google on Monday said that it will invest ₹75,000 crore (around $10 billion) over the next five to seven years towards digitising the Indian economy, marking the company’s renewed commitment towards its ongoing initiatives in India.
The Fund -- Google for India Digitisation Fund - will be deployed to accelerate Google’s efforts through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, operations, infrastructure and ecosystem investments.
"We’ll do this through a mix of equity investments, partnership investments, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, Google and Alphabet said at sixth edition of 'Google for India', the annual event dedicated to its operations in India.
Google’s efforts in India have deepened its understanding of how technology can be helpful to different types of people, he said adding that building products for India first, has helped us build better products for users everywhere.
“From the excitement of young people using the latest apps and services, to the ways people are using smartphones to improve lives in rural villages...but India’s own digital journey is far from complete. There’s still more work to do in order to make the Internet affordable and useful for a billion Indians. From improving voice input and computing for all of India’s languages, to inspiring and supporting a whole new generation of entrepreneurs," Pichai said.
Affordable access to InternetThe company said the fund will focus on areas that are important to India’s digitization such as enabling affordable access to the Internet and to information for every Indian in their own language and building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs including consumer tech, education, health and agriculture.
Also, for empowering businesses especially small and medium businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation; and leveraging technology and artificial intelligence for social good, including digital literacy, outbreak predictions, and support for rural economies.
Meanwhile, Pichai also briefed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the efforts undertaken by Google to help spread awareness and provide reliable information about Covid-19.
He said that the lockdown steps initiated by the Prime Minister has set up a strong foundation of India’s battle against the pandemic.
The PM appreciated the proactive role played by Google in battling misinformation and conveying information about necessary precautions. He also talked about further leveraging technology in providing healthcare services.