Google is as much India’s as it is America’s: Ravi Shankar Prasad

The Indian government has been working with Silicon Valley giants since the end of last year, and after Uber, it is now Google’s turn to woo India.

Addressing the audience at Digital Unlocked, Google’s SMB-focused event in Delhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Law and Justice, Electronics and IT, made it known to Sundar Pichai that Google is as much India's as it is America’s.

He said:

Google needs to cater to the Indian market and our country's needs. From a paanwaala in Bihar to a top-notch lawyer in Delhi, everyone is now starting to see and experience the power of digitisation, and Google has played an important role there.

With Google looking at digitisation of SMEs in India, the government feels the two can have matched interests and synergies.

Prasad added that India wants to lead the world in the digital revolution, and the growing needs of the market and the country mean Google has its work cut out.

However, with the choppy network and connectivity issues, the first order of business will be working towards better infrastructure.

With Google Station that works towards providing Wi-Fi connectivity to Indian Railway stations, Google believes it is targeting the core Indian market.

Payments will also play a key role in the digitisation game. In the current post-demonetisation scenario, Prasad said cyber security will gain importance.

In our Prime Minister's dream of building a digital India, Google should not only work towards ensuring pure digitisation but look at building electronic systems and cyber security systems.

While these were just pointers for what the Indian government and Google can do together, Prasad also emphasised the fact that for Google and the world, India is a very important market.

There should, therefore, be a collaborative effort towards building systems and infrastructures that can support Digital India.