'Google for India' digitisation fund: Key things to know

NEW DELHI: Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has announced a 'Google for India' digitisation fund through which the tech giant will be investing Rs 75,000 crore, or approximately $10 billion, into India over the next 5-7 years. The Google chief stated that the "investment reflects the internet giant's confidence in India's future and its digital economy."
Here are key things to know about the Rs 75,000 crore fund:
* Through this fund, Google intends to make internet affordable and more useful.
* Google intends to improve voice input and computing for all of India’s languages which in turn will support a new generation of entrepreneurs.
* The digitisation fund will invest the Rs 75,000 crore in India through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments.
* Investments will focus on four areas important to India’s digitisation.
* 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.
* And fourth, leveraging technology and AI (artificial intelligence) for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture.
* The digitisation Fund will also help in realisation of the key targets under "Digital India movement" of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, said Pichai.
* Pichai also said that the goal of the fund is to ensure that India not only benefits from the next wave of innovation but leads it. Working together we can ensure that our best days are still ahead, he added.