Google announces $10 billion ‘digitisation’ fund for India

Published
184
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc’s Google, also announced that the company will invest $1 million to support digital education in India. — AP/File
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc’s Google, also announced that the company will invest $1 million to support digital education in India. — AP/File

US tech giant Google is investing in a $10 billion fund to help accelerate India’s transition to a digital economy in the next five to seven years.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc’s Google, said on Monday that the project will focus on building products that are relevant to India’s needs and empowering businesses for their “digital transformation”.

“Our goal is to ensure India not only benefits from the next wave of innovation, but leads it,” Pichai said in a digital keynote at a Google for India event.

The company also announced it will invest $1 million to support digital education in India. It said the fund will enable one million teachers in 22,000 schools across the country to use Google services that can facilitate online learning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made digitisation a major priority for India, his government says.

He envisions a “Digital India” where high-speed Internet access will empower entrepreneurs to build software and other technology products to help raise the standard of living in a country where many households are still impoverished.

The Indian premier styles himself as a leader in touch with technology and has nearly 60 million Twitter followers.

Modi said in a tweet that he and Pichai met and discussed a wide range of subjects, “particularly leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India’s farmers, youngsters and entrepreneurs”.

“I was delighted to know more about the efforts of Google in several sectors, be it in education, learning, Digital India, furthering digital payments and more,” he said.

Opinion

Editorial

Swat bombing
Updated 04 Aug, 2026

Swat bombing

IT is a bitter irony that terrorists struck a protest against violence in Swat on Sunday, causing at least 17...
Tariff blow
04 Aug, 2026

Tariff blow

FOR an export sector already squeezed by high production costs, the additional 10pc tariff on top of the existing...
Perilous peaks
04 Aug, 2026

Perilous peaks

THE deaths of 10 climbers in an avalanche on Broad Peak is a sad reminder of the perils that many mountaineers face...
Farewell to arms?
Updated 03 Aug, 2026

Farewell to arms?

PALESTINIAN resistance group Hamas recently made a major concession by agreeing to give up its weapons. It should be...
Unplanned future
03 Aug, 2026

Unplanned future

A PROJECTION that Pakistan’s population could reach 400m by 2040 should not be treated as another dramatic number...
No more torture
03 Aug, 2026

No more torture

EVEN the best laws on the books are worth little unless the state shows the willingness to enforce them. This is...