Google Announces $10 Billion Digitization Fund To Accelerate India’s Digital Economy

Google on Monday announced it’s going to invest ₹75,000 crores or approximately $10 billion into India over the next 5–7 years to help accelerate India’s digital economy.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a blog post announced the move and said “times of challenge can lead to incredible moments of innovation. Our goal is to ensure India not only benefits from the next wave of innovation but leads it.”

Today at #GoogleForIndia we announced a new $10B digitization fund to help accelerate India’s digital economy. We’re proud to support PM @narendramodi’s vision for Digital India - many thanks to Minister @rsprasad & Minister @DrRPNishank for joining us. https://t.co/H0EUFYSD1q

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) July 13, 2020

“Thanks to Prime Minister Modi’s vision for Digital India, the country has made huge progress in getting a billion Indians online. Low-cost smartphones combined with affordable data, and a world-class telecom infrastructure, have paved the way for new opportunities,” the blog post further stated.

Praising the growth trajectory in India, the blog post noted that “Just four years ago, only one-third of all small businesses in India had an online presence. Today, 26 million SMBs are now discoverable on Search and Maps, driving connections with more than 150 million users every month.”

Now more than ever, every Indian business is turning into a digital business. @caesars talks about the several initiatives Google has in place to help small businesses join the journey.

Tune in to his talk now: https://t.co/91wWrg5Vom#GoogleForIndia #G4IN pic.twitter.com/HBqvvQ50uy

— Google India (@GoogleIndia) July 13, 2020

Google’s latest investment will focus on four key areas important to India’s digitization -

• Enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, whether it’s Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other
• Building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs
• Empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation
• Leveraging technology and AI for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture