Google for India 2019

The tech major goes bigger with major announcements, powering the country’s digital economy and building a helpful Google for every Indian

Google hosted the fifth edition of its annual Google for India event in New Delhi recently. The event saw Google announcing a host of updates to its platforms, besides launching new products and initiatives that are designed specifically for the Indian users. The Us-based company made its plans public to make the internet more accessible, inclusive and empowering for everyone in India. Here are all the major announcements from the event.

Google Research India: Google announced that it would be opening a research lab in Bengaluru that would focus on the advancement of Computer Science research in India and applying this research for solving big problems related to healthcare, education and agriculture. The lab would be led by renowned Indian scientist and ACM fellow Dr Manish Gupta.

Free public Wi-fi: The tech giant announced that it would expand the program of providing free public Wi-fi to people living in areas without internet connectivity. Google has collaborated with BSNL for this initiative and it would provide this service in the villages of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar.

Vodafone-idea Phone Line: Google is partnering with Vodafone Idea to bring Google Assistant to people in areas with poor internet connectivity. Vodafone users who are still using 2G networks can now call a toll-free number 000-800-9191-000 - to ask their queries to Google, which would then answer them actively.

Language decoupling in Google Assistant: Google Assistant supports a

total of nine Indian languages. However, users were required to manually set their local language in their smartphones to use it. But now, users will be able to use a local language simply by saying - “Hey Google, talk to me in Hindi”. Google has started rolling out this feature on all Android, Android Go and Kaios devices.

Google Assistant gets Interpreter mode: Now Google Assistant will be able to act as a real-time interpreter between two people who don’t speak the same language. To launch the interpreter mode, all users need to say is - “OK Google, help me speak in Hindi”. This feature will be available on Android and Android Go phones in India in the coming months. Besides, Android users will soon be able to access Google Assistant in Hindi on all Android TVS.

Discover gets 7 new languages: Google introduced support for seven new Indian languages in the Discover section of its Google app. This includes -- Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam. Google will introduce support for Oriya, Urdu, Punjabi in the coming months.

Lens gets smarter and better: Google introduced a number of new features on to Google Lens. First, users will translate information about road sign or a poster or a menu by taking a photo, tapping on the translate button and selecting their preferred language. Second, with Google Lens users can now tap on a word and launch Search directly to look for the details pertaining to the word. Third, Google Lens is getting support for Tamil, Telugu and Marathi.

Bolo gets new languages: Following the launch of its Bolo app in Hindi and in English early this year, Google has now added support for five Indian languages in this mobile application. This includes -- Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Google has also partnered with Chotta Bheem and Katha Kids to expand the catalogue of stories from around 40 to over 500 stories.

Google Pay gets bigger: The company announced a number of features and functionalities for Google Pay.

• Google announced Spot platform in Google Pay. This would enable merchants to create a branded commercial experience within Google Pay. While merchants will be able to showcase their entire catalogue of products in these Spots, users will be able to select items and pay for them all without leaving Google Pay. Google has started rolling out Spot and at present it is available for Makemytrip, Eat.fit, Go ibibo, Oven Story, redbus and Urbanclap.

• Google also introduced a Job Spot

which would enable job-seekers to look for entry-level jobs, make a CV and interact with potential employer all within Google Pay.

• Google also introduced tokenised

cards in Google Pay. Tokenized card would pass on a digital token to the merchant from which you purchase a product or a service instead of your actual card number, which would protect you from banking frauds. This functionality will be available for Visa cards by HDFC, SBI, Axis, Kotak and Standard Chartered banks, in coming weeks and it would extend the support to cover Mastercard and Rupay cards in the coming months.

Google Pay Business: Google India also launched a special version of Google Pay for merchants. Google Pay for Business would allow small merchants and storefronts to enable digital payments without the hassle of time-consuming verification process. ■