Google to invest $10 billion in India over next 5-7 years: CEO Pichai

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in India over the next 5-7 years through the 'Google for India Digitisation Fund'. Through this effort, we will invest Rs 75,000 crore or USD 10 billion in India for the next 5-7 years," Pichai said.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in India over the next 5-7 years through the 'Google for India Digitisation Fund'. Addressing Google for India event, Pichai asserted that the latest move is a reflection of the company's confidence in the future of India and its digital economy.

"Today, I am excited to announce Google for India digitization fund. Through this effort, we will invest Rs 75,000 crore or USD 10 billion in India for the next 5-7 years," Pichai said. Investments will focus on four key areas of India's digitization, he said. This includes enabling affordable access and information to every Indian in their own language, building new products and services relevant to India's unique needs, empowering businesses as they continue to embark in digital transformation, and leveraging technology and Artificial Intelligence for social good in areas like healthcare, education, and agriculture.

Earlier, Sundar Pichai and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed issues such as leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India's farmers and youths and the importance of data security. During the interaction, they also spoke about the new work culture that is emerging in the times of COVID-19. "We discussed the challenges the global pandemic has brought to areas such as sports. We also talked about the importance of data security and cyber safety," the prime minister said in a series of tweets.

Modi also shared pictures of the virtual interaction. "This morning, had an extremely fruitful interaction with Sundar Pichai. We spoke on a wide range of subjects, particularly leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India's farmers, youngsters, and entrepreneurs," the prime minister said.

Pichai is the chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc and its subsidiary Google LLC. Modi said he 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".

Pichai and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad are participating in the sixth annual edition of "Google for India" on Monday.