After meeting with PM Modi, Google announces Rs 75,000 crore investment in India

Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the technology giant has announced that it will invest Rs 75,000 crore in India over the next 5-7 years.

Under the 'Google for India Digitization Fund', the company will invest the amount in India over the next 5-7 years through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments.

In a blog post, the company said that the investment will focus on four areas that are important to India's digitization. "First, enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, whether it’s Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other. Second, building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs. Third, empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation. Fourth, leveraging technology and AI for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture," the blog post read.

The company further said that it looks forward to working alongside PM Modi and the government of India, as well as Indian businesses of all sizes to realize our shared vision for a Digital India.

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

Earlier in the day, Modi and Pichai interacted over video conferencing and discussed various subjects including new work culture in the times of coronavirus, data security and cyber safety.

In a series of tweets, PM Modi said that the interaction as 'extremely fruitful' and lauded Google's efforts in different sectors.