Google announces new initiatives to support India’s digital economy

Meanwhile, Google has announced another initiative to help businesses and job seekers succeed in the new digital economy of India. The company is collaborating with NASSCOM Foundation, Tata STRIVE, and Safeducate to identify underserved learners across the country for a free enrolment to a Google Career Certificate of their choice.

At Google for India 2021 event, Google today announced new initiatives to support the country's digital economy. The company has joined hands with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to launch a Rs 110 crore financial assistance program for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Under this financial assistance program, SIDBI will disburse loans up to Rs 1 crore at competitive interest rates to help micro-enterprises scale up and increase their capacity by purchasing new machinery, equipment, and production infrastructure, and for working capital requirements.

The program will focus on women-run enterprises as well as those engaged in the production of equipment for the country's fight against the pandemic, with suitable interest rate concession also envisaged for such enterprises.

#SIDBI has collaborated with #Google for having a social impact lending programme with financial assistance of up to Rs. 100 lakh at competitive interest rates targeted at #MicroEnterprises.Know more: https://t.co/paZIi3SyCf@DFS_India @FinMinIndia @minmsme @GoogleIndia pic.twitter.com/lcZQqXL8La

— Small Industries Development Bank of India (@sidbiofficial) November 18, 2021

Secondly, the company is strengthening the Google Career Certificate program to help more people acquire new digital skills. The tech giant is collaborating with NASSCOM Foundation, Tata STRIVE, and Safeducate to identify underserved learners across the country for a free enrolment to a Google Career Certificate of their choice.

Available on Coursera's online platform, Google Career Certificates support learners to become job-ready for technology-based roles such as IT Support, IT Automation, Project Management, Data Analytics, and UX Design. The partnership will also equip learners with soft and business skills, and offer support in resume building and interview preparation.

"As more businesses in India embrace digital ways of working, career opportunities in high-growth fields are on the rise, and employers are seeking to bridge the gap for trained talent. Today, we are further strengthening the Google Career Certificate program In India by launching 100,000 scholarships to make acquiring new digital skills accessible to more people," Google said.