With the Digital India initiative gaining momentum, Google has launched a website to track the country's progress. The search giant is collaborating with small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the country to get their businesses online, stating that it has thus far assisted 20 million SMBs in gaining an Internet presence through the Google My Business initiative.
From Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director, Google SEA and India:
At Google, we believe that a connected India with access to the web will empower Indians, help businesses grow, open new opportunities for education for the next generation and create growth for the Indian economy. We're focussed on getting the next billion people online and the majority of them will come from India. We want to make sure they have a great, reliable, and relevant experience when they get there.With over 300 million Internet users in the country and another 200 million Indians set to join by 2017, the Internet is opening up huge opportunities for Indian businesses and entrepreneurs. India's Small and Medium businesses (SMBs), especially technology startups are starting to bloom and investments have led to an explosion in India's tech sector in recent years. At over 4,100 enterprises, India has the third-highest number of tech startups in the world, this number is expected to reach several thousand by 2020.
Google has also mentioned that it will provide $20 million worth of cloud-based services to startups in the country:
We are excited that businesses all around India are using the technology we provide as an engine for their growth and we're committed to helping them succeed with our tools and products. Just a few weeks ago, we announced an investment of $20,000 of cloud credits for 1000 startups in 2016 - 120 crores in a single year for startups.This is the single largest investment we've made anywhere in the world for Google Cloud Services. We want to help fuel the growth of companies and startups in India and one of the best ways we can do that is by empowering more businesses with the powerful tools Google provides for businesses.
Source: Google
