Stage is all set for the Google for Indian event (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)Welcome to our live blog of the Google for India 2023 event, where we will bring you the latest updates and announcements from the search giant as they happen. Google for India is an annual event where Google showcases its innovations and initiatives for the Indian market, ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) to internet access.
This year, the event will take place on Thursday, October 19, at 11 am IST. You can watch the live stream of the event on the Google India YouTube channel.
Google has teased some of the topics that it will cover at the event with a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that features a golden model of ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander and rover. The post says that the topics will range “from access to the internet” to “success on the internet with the help of AI.”
On October 19th, we will be sharing our vision for the next chapter of India’s internet journey: from access to the internet, to success on the internet with the help of AI 🇮🇳
Join us for the 9th edition of #GoogleForIndia 🚀https://t.co/pzUIzzuSwg pic.twitter.com/kZaMkJLA64
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) October 15, 2023
We can expect Google to announce new plans and partnerships to improve internet connectivity and digital literacy in India, as well as new AI tools and applications that are tailored for Indian users.
For instance, last month, the company launched a new feature that notifies users in India about earthquakes even before they happen. We can expect more announcements along these lines, so stay tuned as we bring you all the news and highlights from the Google for India 2023 event.
Google officially confirmed that the Pixel series of smartphones will be manufactured in India, which includes Pixel 8. The first India-made Pixel devices will be coming to market in 2024.
India has been a truly special place for Android and learnings from India have helped Google to make Android better for everyone. There has been an amazing response for the Pixel 8 and the Pixel Watch 2 in India, India is ranked third for premium smartphones with over 50 per cent growth in 2022.
Google in collaboration with HP will soon start to manufacture affordable HP Chromebooks in India. These are affordable laptops, powered by Google's ChromeOS operating system, which will be cheaper than Windows and macOS running laptops.
Google has partnered with leading financial institutions in India and is currently dispursing loans directly on Google Pay, for those who have a monthly income of less than Rs 30,000 for tier-two cities with partners like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. Google Pay announces Sache loans, which just start at Rs 15,000 with smaller repayment amounts.
Google claims that over 350 million Indians are transacting digitally in India, in the last 12 months, the value processed is at 167 lakh crores.
Google has provided over $50 million and resources to various nonprofits to make digital benefits accessible. It uses AI-powered apps to help farmers to improve their profits. Google is offering a $4 million grant for the CyberPeace Foundation, which will equip 40 million people across India with fact-checking techniques in over 15 languages.
YouTube prioritises safety in India to keep India safer, which includes various efforts, including hit pause, a series of educational videos. Google is also focused on removing harmful content by using a combination of technology, the company has removed over 2 million videos that violated YouTube policy, and more than 80 per cent of these videos had 10 or fewer views. YouTube is also getting a new watch page for news in India, which will be available in 11 official Indian languages.
Google Pay has prevented scams worth 12,000 crores in India. The company has taken down 3,500 predatory lending apps. Google Play Protect in India is now even more powerful and comes with enhanced real-time code-level scanning.
Google also announces a new collaboration with Govt of India, the ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to deploy various citizen-centric services at an accelerated phase.
Google Maps also collaborates with ONDC to enable metro ticket booking within the apps, and this feature will be rolled out in the next few months.
Google Cloud partners with ONCD and also plans on helping farmers with an agri tech called Sign Catch, where, FPOs can now put their catalogues online and reach out to merchants across the country with the help of ONDC.
With the help of AI, small businesses can build catalogues with ease on Google Merchant Centre It also offers valuable insights on top-selling products so that they can always plan ahead.
Google has enabled over 900 million connections across our platforms and Google introduces business messages, which allow users to interact with businesses within the search itself.
AI-powered overview on Google search will soon be available in India in English and Hindi, which is also said to help users discover businesses to be discovered online and will also prioritise approaches that will send valuable traffic to creators to support a healthy and open web.
Gen AI is helping to reimaging what a search engine can do by transforming the way information is organised. Google SGE (search generative experience) is now available in India in English and Hindi.
Technology is only an enabler for the real and tactile aspects of life. We will collaborate deeply with all stakeholders which includes governament, financial ecosystem, startups, public health infrastructure, law enforcement, and many others to make this a reality.
UPI brought every Indian with bank account into the formal economy, Google India Head.
Generative AI is a technology that can synthesise, predict, and create at a scale which is unimaginable, says Sanjay Gupta, vice president and country head, Google India. We are looking at the next ignition moment, not just for India but for the rest of the world.
This is the 9th edition of the Google for India event, where, the company is expected to announce India-specific products and services which will soon be introduced in the country. This could include new initiatives and services powered by artificial intelligence and generative AI.