NEW DELHI: Google unveiled a host of ‘Made-for-India’ products including a bulked-up payments app as it steps up focus on building technology for users in one of its largest markets that it can also take to other geographies.
The US internet giant introduced a facility for customers to access loans from banks through its Google Tez app, now rebranded Google Pay; a stripped down version of its latest operating system Andriod Pie; and a platform called Navlekha that will enable regional languages content firms to publish online quickly.
It also launched a bilingual version of Google Assistant that can seamlessly switch between Hindi and English, as well as a Marathi version of its artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant.
Caesar Sengupta, vice-president, Next Billion Users initiative and Payments, at Google, said when Google builds for India, it builds for the world. “Many governments across the world are asking us to bring digital payments in their country. So rebranding Tez as Google Pay will act as a unifying experience,” he said at the company’s flagship ‘Google for India’ event in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Google, which in January 2016 launched its ambitious project to offer free Wi-Fi in 400 railway stations in India, announced the next leg of the Google Station project for around 10 million people in over 12,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh. The Google Station project since has been launched in Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand and Indonesia.
The company also said Samsung has joined phonemakers including Micromax, Lava and Nokia that are building devices compatible with Google’s Andriod Go operating system meant for low-end handsets.
As for Google Pay, the company said it would focus on onboarding more online and offline merchants to drive use of the UPI-linked platform. About 22 million users have conducted 750 million transactions worth about $30 billion on Tez since it was launched in India in Sept last year, according to the company.
Google is working on integrating companies such as Uber, Redbus and Bookmyshow on its payments platform. It is also partnering with Pine Labs, which deploys credit and debit card readers at stores, to have a presence at big retail chains such as Big Bazaar and FBB. The company said it is targeting 15,000 retail touch points by Diwali in November.
Advertisers on various Google platforms as well as consumers using its Play Store will be able to transact using Google Pay.
Calling out “voice, video and vernacular” as the next big trends, Rajan Anandan, vice president, India and Southeast Asia, at Google, said India has witnessed a 270% yearon-year increase in voice searches. “There will be over 500 million Indian language users over the next two years,” he said.
Google’s Navlekha project will provide a handy online publishing tool for local language newspapers and content companies—90% of which do not have a website, the company said. Among its other new initiatives for driving internet use in local languages, Google will start offering its feed bilingually. Its audio page feature will be available in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, while Google Assistant will be available in seven more Indian languages apart from Hindi and Marathi.
The US internet giant introduced a facility for customers to access loans from banks through its Google Tez app, now rebranded Google Pay; a stripped down version of its latest operating system Andriod Pie; and a platform called Navlekha that will enable regional languages content firms to publish online quickly.
It also launched a bilingual version of Google Assistant that can seamlessly switch between Hindi and English, as well as a Marathi version of its artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant.
Caesar Sengupta, vice-president, Next Billion Users initiative and Payments, at Google, said when Google builds for India, it builds for the world. “Many governments across the world are asking us to bring digital payments in their country. So rebranding Tez as Google Pay will act as a unifying experience,” he said at the company’s flagship ‘Google for India’ event in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Google, which in January 2016 launched its ambitious project to offer free Wi-Fi in 400 railway stations in India, announced the next leg of the Google Station project for around 10 million people in over 12,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh. The Google Station project since has been launched in Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand and Indonesia.
The company also said Samsung has joined phonemakers including Micromax, Lava and Nokia that are building devices compatible with Google’s Andriod Go operating system meant for low-end handsets.
As for Google Pay, the company said it would focus on onboarding more online and offline merchants to drive use of the UPI-linked platform. About 22 million users have conducted 750 million transactions worth about $30 billion on Tez since it was launched in India in Sept last year, according to the company.
Google is working on integrating companies such as Uber, Redbus and Bookmyshow on its payments platform. It is also partnering with Pine Labs, which deploys credit and debit card readers at stores, to have a presence at big retail chains such as Big Bazaar and FBB. The company said it is targeting 15,000 retail touch points by Diwali in November.
Advertisers on various Google platforms as well as consumers using its Play Store will be able to transact using Google Pay.
Calling out “voice, video and vernacular” as the next big trends, Rajan Anandan, vice president, India and Southeast Asia, at Google, said India has witnessed a 270% yearon-year increase in voice searches. “There will be over 500 million Indian language users over the next two years,” he said.
Google’s Navlekha project will provide a handy online publishing tool for local language newspapers and content companies—90% of which do not have a website, the company said. Among its other new initiatives for driving internet use in local languages, Google will start offering its feed bilingually. Its audio page feature will be available in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, while Google Assistant will be available in seven more Indian languages apart from Hindi and Marathi.
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