Google to invest Rs 75,000 crore to boost digitisation in India

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in India over the next 5-7 years through 'Google for India Digitisation Fund'.

New Delhi:Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced a Google for India digitisation fund through which, the company will invest Rs 75,000 crore or approximately $10 billion over the next five to seven years to help India go digital.

"Today, I am excited to announce Google for India digitisation fund. Through this effort, we will invest Rs 75,000 crore or USD 10 billion in India for next 5-7 years," Pichai said.

"We will do this through a mix of equity investment, partnerships and an operational infrastructure ecosystem in India. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," Pichai said during the Google for India virtual conference.

The investment will focus on four areas important to India's digitisation-- first enabling affordable access to information to every Indian in their own language.

"Second, building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India's unique needs. Third, empowering businesses to continue or embark on digital transformation. And fourth, leveraging technology and Artificial Intelligence for social good in areas like health, agriculture and education," the Google CEO said.

Giving a special address at the event, India's Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad expressed hope that with this new fund, Google will also focus on promoting the country's startups further.

"There is immense scope for Google to deploy artificial intelligence and undertake new initiatives in the field of agriculture, weather prediction, healthcare in the wake of Covid-19 challenges and most importantly in digital education," Prasad said.

"Today, India's app economy is growing very powerfully, but we must not just download apps. It is important also to upload apps from India," the IT minister noted.

Google to invest USD 1 Million to train 7,00,000 teachers

Google also announced a partnership with CBSE to train over one million teachers in 22,000 schools across India by the end of 2020, to deliver blended learning that combines the classroom approach with online learning, using free tools like G Suite for Education, Google Classroom, YouTube and more.

To support underserved low-income communities, Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director, Southeast Asia & India, also announced a new Google.org grant of $1 million to Kaivalya Education Foundation (KEF) as part of the Global Distance Learning Fund.

Using these funds, the KEF will work with the Central Square Foundation and TeacherApp to train 7,00,000 teachers to deliver virtual education for students so that they can continue learning at home over mass media such as TV and radio, wherever smartphones or internet access are not available.

(With Inputs from agencies)