Google To Invest $10 Billion In India To Push Digitisation

Google said it plans to invest $10 billion (about Rs 75,000 crore) in India in the next five to seven years as the search giant looks to deepen presence in the the world's second largest internet market by users.

The company will make the investment through 'Google for India Digitisation Fund', Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and Alphabet Inc, said on Monday in an annual event online. The investment, he said, will be made through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments.

"Today, people in India no longer have to wait for the technology to come to you, a whole new generation of tech is happening in India first," Pichai said, adding that "during the pandemic, the ability to be online has been a lifeline for so many of us".

According to Pichai, the investments will focus on four areas that are pivotal to India’s digitisation:

• Enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, whether it’s Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other.
• Building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs.
• Empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation.
• Leveraging technology and artificial intelligence for social good in areas like health, education, and agriculture.

Google said there are more than 500 million active internet users and more than 450 million smartphones users in the country. About 26 million small and medium businesses are now discoverable on search and Maps, driving connections with more than 150 million users every month, the company said in a statement.

“India’s own digital journey is far from complete," Pichai said, adding that 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."