Google announces $10bn investment in India

[King_Kohli]

Google will invest $10bn (£7.93bn) in India in the next five to seven years, the chief executive of its parent company Alphabet Inc has announced.

Sundar Pichai spoke at the annual Google for India event, held online.

The investment will be used to build products and services for India, help businesses go digital and use technology "for social good".

"This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," Mr Pichai said.

With more than 500 million active internet users in the country, India is perhaps the biggest potential growth market for Google.

The investment will be made through the Google for India Digitisation Fund

Mr Pichai said the fund would focus on four areas to scale up digital infrastructure in India. It would:

enable "affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language"
"build new products and services that are deeply relevant to India's unique needs"
empower local businesses who want to go digital
"leverage technology and AI [artificial intelligence] ]for social good" in sectors like health, education and agriculture
Mr Pichai also touted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India project which aims to overhaul the country's digital infrastructure.

Mr Modi tweeted to say that he and Mr Pichai had discussed "leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India's farmers, youngsters and entrepreneurs".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-53391466

 

[King_Kohli]

New Delhi: Hours before Google declared setting up a Rs 75,000 crore fund to help accelerate India's digital economy, the Prime Minister's Office shared details of Narendra Modi's conversation with Google CEO Sundar Pichai on a wide range of subjects, especially use of technology to further education, agriculture and "re-skilling" the country's workforce.
"I was delighted to know more about the efforts of @Google in several sectors, be it in education, learning, @_DigitalIndia, furthering digital payments and more," the Prime Minister tweeted.

"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 PM said sharing pictures of the virtual interaction where he discussed the use of AR/VR to give a stadium-like viewing experience for sports events.

The PM was also apprised about Google's efforts in forecasting floods.

 

[King_Kohli]

Narendra Modi [MENTION=140582]Naren[/MENTION]dramodi
·
Jul 13
This morning, had an extremely fruitful interaction with [MENTION=136699]sundar[/MENTION]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.

 

[King_Kohli]

Narendra Modi [MENTION=140582]Naren[/MENTION]dramodi
·
Jul 13
During our interaction, [MENTION=136699]sundar[/MENTION]pichai and I 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.

 

[King_Kohli]

Narendra Modi [MENTION=140582]Naren[/MENTION]dramodi
·
Jul 13
I was delighted to know more about the efforts of @Google in several sectors, be it in education and earning.

 

[King_Kohli]

$10bn is very huge investment.
Thank you Google, Sundar and Modi

 

[King_Kohli]

Sundar Pichai [MENTION=136699]sundar[/MENTION]pichai

Today at #GoogleForIndia we announced a new $10B digitization fund to help accelerate India’s digital economy. We’re proud to support PM [MENTION=140582]Naren[/MENTION]dramodi’s vision for Digital India
- many thanks to Minister @rsprasad & Minister @DrRPNishank for joining us.

 

[Oxfordchamp]

sundar pichai [mention=136699]sundar[/mention]pichai

today at #googleforindia we announced a new $10b digitization fund to help accelerate india’s digital economy. We’re proud to support pm [mention=140582]naren[/mention]dramodi’s vision for digital india
- many thanks to minister @rsprasad & minister @drrpnishank for joining us.

great initiative..now other big ones should step up..

 

[Napa]

great initiative..now other big ones should step up..

Pichai has thrown down the gauntlet, time for the others to step up.

 

[King_Kohli]

Syed Akbaruddin [MENTION=2265]Akbar[/MENTION]uddinIndia

Investments pour in India’s digital future.
This week’s update, so far

Sunday: Foxconn $1 billion
Monday: Google $10 billion
Tuesday: Walmart $1.2 billion
Wednesday: Google $4.5 billion in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms (Part of Monday’s announcement)

 

[shaz619]

Great move for Google, Tesla are also looking to tap into the market

 

[globalcitizen]

China’s latest aggressive stance and bullying behaviour, is probably spooking the global companies and markets and they are looking to diversify

 

[finalfantasy7]

heres a good video on the 10bn deal:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LQa-XYrwXbs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[PetroDollars]

So google and apple are setting a plant to manufacture in india, to sell cheap budget smartphones to the indian population without a phone, nothing will be exported, other than profits which head back to america after looting india.

Isnt this what indians said about CPEC, now there celebrating )

I do hope the smart phones enable them to make better decisions when it comes to elections.

 

[JaDed]

So google and apple are setting a plant to manufacture in india, to sell cheap budget smartphones to the indian population without a phone, nothing will be exported, other than profits which head back to america after looting india.

Isnt this what indians said about CPEC, now there celebrating )

I do hope the smart phones enable them to make better decisions when it comes to elections.

Currently most phones are manufactured in China that Indians use, Google will only get part of the profit, does that make it clear or more info is required?

 

[PetroDollars]

Currently most phones are manufactured in China that Indians use, Google will only get part of the profit, does that make it clear or more info is required?

according to the video above, this is for extremely cheap budget phones targeted to indians who dont have a phone.

so indians obviously dont not have the technical ability to manufacture smart phones what china manufactures, so you have to keep buying them from there.

Nice glorifying by you anyway, so as you said, if you need more info, let me know, i hope ive made it clear for you.

 

[JaDed]

according to the video above, this is for extremely cheap budget phones targeted to indians who dont have a phone.

so indians obviously dont not have the technical ability to manufacture smart phones what china manufactures, so you have to keep buying them from there.

Nice glorifying by you anyway, so as you said, if you need more info, let me know, i hope ive made it clear for you.

You haven't actually, Indians do use cheap smart phones that's the truth and no it won't be able only for Indians that don't have phones only but even ones who use cheap phones right now.

You are right about the technical capability though but Chinese phones still aren't as good as South Korean or American ones.(design wise not manufacturing wise).

Google's investment is still less than FB's in Jio, Qualcom has invested as well to set up 5G across India.

I'm unclear as to which part you think this doesn't help India as it is clear what you think about manufacturing phones in India has no benefit for Indians and where is the glorification? Cheap phone setup and financial help for 5G setup in India which India needs.

 

[Buffet]

You haven't actually, Indians do use cheap smart phones that's the truth and no it won't be able only for Indians that don't have phones only but even ones who use cheap phones right now.

You are right about the technical capability though but Chinese phones still aren't as good as South Korean or American ones.(design wise not manufacturing wise).

Google's investment is still less than FB's in Jio, Qualcom has invested as well to set up 5G across India.

I'm unclear as to which part you think this doesn't help India as it is clear what you think about manufacturing phones in India has no benefit for Indians and where is the glorification? Cheap phone setup and financial help for 5G setup in India which India needs.

China investments in most part of world is gov-gov with very steep return on guarateed investment ( often 15%+ ) which imports chinese labor in host country to emoply all chinese workers. It's mostly done to off load excess manifacturing capacity to offload which keep extra workers emplyed and making moeny while doing it.

Google is not getting any Indian governemnt gurateed for return. Google may lose entire 10B. Google will also not put conditions like importing American workers in India.

Totally different situation.

 

[Buffet]

Jio has raised around 20B in very quick time,

Facebook: $5.7B
Silver Lake: $1.34B
Vista: $1.5B
GA: $870M
KKR: $1.5B
Abu Dhabi Invest. Auth. $752M
Mubadala: $1.2B
TPG: $600M
Catterton: $250M
PIF: $1.5B
Intel Capital: $250M
Qualcomm Ventures: $97M
Google: $4.5B

 

[Buffet]

Jio has raised around 20B in very quick time,

Facebook: $5.7B
Silver Lake: $1.34B
Vista: $1.5B
GA: $870M
KKR: $1.5B
Abu Dhabi Invest. Auth. $752M
Mubadala: $1.2B
TPG: $600M
Catterton: $250M
PIF: $1.5B
Intel Capital: $250M
Qualcomm Ventures: $97M
Google: $4.5B

Here is an article talking about why so much money is flowing for this,

https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-ye...etone-billionaire-changed-all-that-1536159916

 

[MP2011]

heres a good video on the 10bn deal:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LQa-XYrwXbs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

So another hoax by the bigot just like his 20 lakh crores in 2020. Lol, bhakts were really falling over each other to bow down before their god.

 

[MP2011]

I do hope the smart phones enable them to make better decisions when it comes to elections.

As if the ones with smartphones have made any better decisions.

 

[ex-q-zit]

"Look Forward To Supporting India's G20 Presidency": Google CEO Meets PM

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and assured his support to making an open and connected internet that works for all.

"Thank you for a great meeting today PM Narendra Modi. Inspiring to see the rapid pace of technological change under your leadership. Look forward to continuing our strong partnership and supporting India's G20 presidency to advance an open, connected internet that works for all," Mr Pichai tweeted.

Mr Pichai is in the country to attend the "Google for India" event, where the company is focussing on start-ups. Out of its $300 million meant for start-ups, Google would invest some one-fourth in entities led by women.

"Was a delight to meet you and discuss innovation, technology and more. It is important the world continues to work together to leverage tech for human prosperity and sustainable development," PM Modi tweeted.

"Given the scale and technology leadership it (India) will have, it's important to make sure you are balancing, putting in safeguards for people. You're creating an innovative framework, so that companies can innovate on top of a certainty in the legal framework," Mr Pichai said.

"I think it is an important moment in time. India will also be a big export economy. It will benefit from an open and connected internet and getting that balance right will be important," he added.

India took over the G20 presidency earlier this month.

India will host as many as 200 meetings across the country over the next one year. The G20 Summit will be organised in Delhi in September 2023.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

NDTV

 

[daytrader]

Google accuses India watchdog of copy-pasting EU’s Android ruling
Tech giant argues a $161m fine for exploiting the market dominance of its Android operating system should be quashed.

Google has told a tribunal in India that the country’s antitrust investigators copied parts of a European ruling against the US firm for abusing the market dominance of its Android operating system, arguing the decision be quashed, legal papers show.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October fined Alphabet Inc’s Google $161m for exploiting its dominant position in markets such as online search and the Android app store, and asked it to change restrictions imposed on smartphone makers related to pre-installing apps.

Sources told the Reuters news agency in October that Google was worried about the Indian decision as the remedies ordered were seen as more sweeping than the European Commission’s landmark 2018 ruling for imposing unlawful restrictions on Android mobile device makers. Google has challenged a record 4.1-billion-euro ($4.3bn) fine in that case.

In its filing to an Indian appeals tribunal, Google argues the CCI’s investigation unit “copy-pasted extensively from a European Commission decision, deploying evidence from Europe that was not examined in India”.

“There are more than 50 instances of copypasting”, in some cases “word for word”, and the watchdog erroneously dismissed the issue, Google said in its filing which is not public but has been reviewed by Reuters.

...
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2...-india-watchdog-of-copying-eus-android-ruling

 

[FearlessRoar]

Google's decision to remove some apps in India from its app store "cannot be permitted", Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday, amid an ongoing dispute over service fee payments to the U.S. firm.

Google on Friday removed from its Play Store many Indian apps, including Matrimony.com's popular Bharat Matrimony and job search app Naukri, saying the companies were not abiding by its in-app payment guidelines.

Vaishnaw said he has held talks with Google and will meet the startups, which needed protection in India.

"This cannot be permitted. This kind of de-listing cannot be permitted," he said in a statement.

Google declined to comment.

Google removes apps from Play Store in India; IT minister says 'cannot be permitted'

Among the worst hit by the removals is 'Matrimony.com' which has seen more than 150 of its apps dropped from the Play Store

www.khaleejtimes.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

Just pay the bill and get them back on the Play Store.

 

[JaDed]

Just pay the bill and get them back on the Play Store.

Naw this seems to be an issue across Europe and US - Epic games, Netflix all have been crying and suing apple google for this.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Naw this seems to be an issue across Europe and US - Epic games, Netflix all have been crying and suing apple google for this.

This type of monopolistic behaviour won't last.

Most of the apps are back on playstore in India.

 

[Red-Indian]

The Apple business model instinctively feels unethical in the extreme. They charged huge amounts for the software and hardware, then monopolised access to their customer base in the name of security and now charge massive percentage commissions to allow their customers to buy anything.

Google is a trickier one. They invested huge amounts in developing software like Google Search, Maps & Android, gave it away for (virtually) free and now are making money from the commissions and advertisement using the near ubiquity of their product and monopoly access to their giant customer base.

I have more sympathy for their argument and not so much for the gaming & matrimony apps. They knew the service model when they got into it and were perfectly free to restrict themselves to Web only and not apps if they didn't want to pay the commissions.

It's still an awkward position to be in supporting the rights of obscenely profitable megacorps over the small(er) entrepreneurs though.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Amid AI boom, Google CEO Sundar Pichai close to becoming a billionaire​

Google stock's surge of over 400% since 2015 when Sundar Pichai took over as the CEO and the hefty stock awards have made Sundar Pichai one of the world's highest-paid executives​

The Artificial Intelligence growth has been a great boon for Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The 51 year old non-founder tech executive is now on the cusp of achieving billionaire status. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Pichai's fortune is close to $1 billion.

Pichai's wealth grows​

Sundar Pichai took over the reins of Google in 2015. Since then, the tech giant's stock has surged more than 400%, outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq over the same period.

On Friday, the stock hit a fresh record after the company's first-quarter earnings beat expectations. The boost in the quarter earnings comes with the AI-driven growth in its cloud computing unit. For the first time, Google also introduced a dividend.

Along with the rally, the hefty stock awards have made him one of the world's highest-paid executives.

Sundar Pichai who grew up in a two-room apartment in Chennai, once in an interview mentioned that his father withdrew $1,000 from the family's savings - more than his annual salary - to cover the cost of Pichai's plane ticket and other expenses when he won a scholarship to Stanford university.

Pichai's net worth includes $424 million in current shareholdings as well as roughly $600 million from share sales since he became CEO. Bloomberg's wealth index assumes those sales were taxed and reinvested in the stock market.

Amid AI boom, Google CEO Sundar Pichai close to becoming a billionaire

Google stock‘s surge of over 400% since 2015 when Sundar Pichai took over as the CEO and the hefty stock awards have made Sundar Pichai one of the world’s highest-paid executives

www.editorji.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Google's online search monopoly is illegal, US judge rules

A US judge has ruled Google acted illegally to crush its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search and related advertising.

The landmark decision on Monday is a major blow to Alphabet, Google's parent company, and could reshape how technology giants do business.

Google was sued by the US Department of Justice in 2020 over its control of about 90% of the online search market.

It is one of several lawsuits that have been filed against the big tech companies as US antitrust authorities attempt to strengthen competition in the industry.

Google's online search monopoly is illegal, US judge rules

The decision is a major blow to Alphabet, Google's parent company, and could reshape how technology giants operate.

www.bbc.com

 

[sweep_shot]

Google's online search monopoly is illegal, US judge rules

A US judge has ruled Google acted illegally to crush its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search and related advertising.

The landmark decision on Monday is a major blow to Alphabet, Google's parent company, and could reshape how technology giants do business.

Google was sued by the US Department of Justice in 2020 over its control of about 90% of the online search market.

It is one of several lawsuits that have been filed against the big tech companies as US antitrust authorities attempt to strengthen competition in the industry.

Google's online search monopoly is illegal, US judge rules

The decision is a major blow to Alphabet, Google's parent company, and could reshape how technology giants operate.

www.bbc.com

Google had an unfair advantage. Good to see court ruled against them.