Google CEO Sundar Pichai announces India Digitization Fund
Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced that as part of the company’s Google for India initiative, the tech giant will invest $10 billion (Rs 75,000 crore) in India. The Rs 75,000 crore funds will be spent, said Pichai, on upscaling of Google’s digital India mission.
At the online-only event — Google for India 2020 — Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, made the announcement of India Digitization Fund, which will see the company invest Rs 75,000 crore in India in 5-7 years.
Key Highlights
Pichai listed that the Investments will focus on four areas important to India’s digitization including:
- 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”.
India’s Minister of Communications, Electronics and IT, Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was also part of Google for India 2020, also spoke on his vision for the digitization of India. In a pre-recorded message that was played back during the presentation, Prasad thanked Google for its investment in the Google India Digitization Fund.
Calling Google a defining platform of change for empowerment, innovation, information and digital awakening, he spoke about how Google today has now penetrated even the deep reaches of the country. Talking about the Rs 75,000 fund that Google is investing in India, he spoke on how this fund will help India bridge its digital divide.
Experts said that such investments are welcome, but should be scrutinized carefully. They also highlight the urgency of enacting the privacy law, given Google and Facebook’s wide-ranging ecosystem reach, data collection efforts, and US-centric data warehousing.
A recent draft report on regulating anonymized data from a government-appointed committee headed by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan also highlighted the issue of digital monopolies in a market like India.
The US-based search engine giant is looking to double down on adoption of digital services in the country, as more people stay at home following the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Recent border tensions with China have led to ban on several popular Chinese apps such as TikTok and has increased scrutiny on investments from that country. This has in turn boosted market interest in Indian startups, which have become more competitive after the limitations on Chinese competition.
As India becomes the most important emerging market for US tech companies, Google and other companies are feeling pressure to validate not just business growth, but also value generated for India to ensure their market position.
SOURCE: Times of India, Economic Times
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