Google with New Announcement
On Monday, Google said that it is planning to invest $10 billion in India in the next five to seven years. As the search giant, Google, looks to help accelerate adoption of digital services in the key overseas market of India.
Chief Executive of Google, Sundar Pichai, today unveiled the future plan of Google in India. The Fund known as India Digitization Fund, it is through which the company will be making the investments in the country.
He said that company will do this through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments in India. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy to be exposed during video conference at the company’s annual event focused on India.
Focus Points of Google Investments
Investments in India will focus on four areas:
- First, enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, whether it’s Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other language of understanding
- Second, building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs of society
- Third, empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation over a long period
- Fourth, leveraging technology and AI for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture, three major sectors of Indian Economy.
India: Emerging market
India being an important overseas market for Google. In India, a range of Google’s products and services including Google Search, YouTube, and Android have made inroads with much of the entire online population of India. The nation of 1.3 billion people has emerged as perhaps the last great untapped growth market for American and Chinese giants (Cheap Phones) side by side.
More than 500 million people in India are online today surfing the net in any means. And over 450 million smartphones are in active usage in the country with internet connections.
India-born Pichai thinks that there is plenty to be done in India, to make internet affordable and useful for billion Indians. Improving the voice input and computing user’s languages, to support a whole new generation of leading ideas in market.
Google, though make only small proportion of its revenue from world’s largest internet market. But for google it is not a priority for now, it is currently aiming at the next hundreds of millions of users in developing markets.
Competition of Capturing Indian Digital Market
Facebook, Owner of WhatsApp and Instagram as well, is rivals with Google and Amazon in India, made an investment of $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio Platforms (leading telecom operator in India). It was done in the month of April this year to digitalize 60 million mom and pop stores (commonly known as kiryana stores).
Reliance Jio Platforms, a four-year-old auxiliary of India’s most valued firm Reliance Industries, from the second half of April has raised an amount of $15.7billion from 12 high-profile investors.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and Chief executive, said the e-commerce giant was investing an additional $1 billion in India, bringing a total of $6.5 billion investment till date in India.
Google: The Great Visionary
Google being an idealist investor, comes with investment in India, after India shutting doors for Chinese firms. Indian Government last month banned 59 apps and Services developed by Chinese companies. Some industry players believe that this ban of Chinese Apps would help American tech giants further expand their tentacles across India as they face less competition.
FDI Policy of India Updated
In April this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government also amended its foreign direct investment policy to need all neighboring nations including China with which it shares a boundary to hunt approval from New Delhi for his or her future deals within the country from now onwards.
For dozens of Indian unicorn startups in India including unicorns Zomato, Swiggy, and Paytm that count Chinese investors as some of their biggest backers for standing on grounds. New Delhi’s move is likely to result in additional difficulties in raising future capital for Indian thinkers.
Need of the Hour: Indian Digital Market
Gaining foothold in India has also become more crucial for American technology giants that have been largely shut from doing business in China due to many amendments. Earlier this month, Google said it had abandoned plans to offer a new cloud service in the world’s largest internet market due to distress of pandemic.
IT Minister: Applauds Google
India’s Electronics and Information Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said that Google was rising to the occasion by trying to invest a fairly substantial amount in India’s digital transformation. He said that he was very happy that Google is recognizing India’s digital innovation and the need to create further opportunities.
Google: Aims to Achieve New Grounds
Google has backed a couple of startups in India so far, including Bangalore-headquartered hyperlocal delivery service Dunzo. In May, Financial Times reported that Google was in talks with Vodafone Idea, the second biggest telecom operator in India, to accumulate a 5% stake within the company.
Sanjay Gupta, the top of Google in India, said the company’s new $10 billion commitment to India today would shape the longer term of the many of its products and services within the country. “We are recommitting ourselves to partner deeply and support India in becoming a very digital nation,” he said.
One of the ways Google, which began operations in India in 2004, has extended its reach within the country is thru partnerships with local smartphone vendors to supply and sell low-cost handsets that receive timely and more frequent software updates.
GM & VP of Payments and Next Billion Users at Google, Caesar Sengupta, without any hints said today that the corporate will specialize in enabling more high-quality but low-cost smartphones in order that more people can access the internet to find out, grow and succeed.