Google to invest Rs 75,000 crore to help accelerate India’s digital economy

The Google for India Digitisation Fund will focus on four key areas

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced a $10 billion (roughly Rs 75,000 crore) “Google for India Digitisation Fund” in a bid to help accelerate India’s digital economy. The announcement was made during the sixth edition of Google for India virtual event. Google plans to make this investment over the next 5-7 years through a “mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments.”

The Google for India Digitisation Fund will focus on four key areas, Pichai said in his keynote. Firstly, Google is looking to “enable” affordable access to information in local languages including Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi and others. Secondly, it is looking to “build” new products and services relevant to the country’s unique needs. Google is also looking to empower businesses and leveraging AI for social good in areas like health, education, and agriculture.

“As we make these investments, we look forward to working alongside Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government, as well as Indian businesses of all sizes to realise our shared vision for a Digital India,” Pichai said adding that the Google for India Digitisation Fund is “a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy.”

Earlier in the day, the Google and Alphabet CEO met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the different ways in which the technology can be used to transform the lives of India’s farmers, youth and entrepreneurs.

“This morning, (I) had an extremely fruitful interaction with Sundar Pichai. 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,” PM Modi shared on Twitter.