Google should use AI in agri, weather prediction, healthcare in India: R S Prasad

Addressing the Google for India event, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister of Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India said that as India looked to transform the lives of Indians through technology, he was happy to see Google invest a fairly substantial amount in India’s digital transformation. “There is immense scope for Google to deploy artificial intelligence and undertake new initiatives in the field of agriculture, weather prediction, healthcare in the wake of COVID-19 challenges and most importantly in digital education. Today, India’s app economy is growing very powerfully, but we must not just download apps. It is important also to upload apps from India. I am sure with this new fund, Google will also focus on promoting our startups further,” he said.

Google Pay Nearby Stores Spot, which was introduced in March has helped offline merchant discoverability and has been used by over two million users. The company has added a Job Spot on Google Pay, which allows for remote work listings and remote job interviews, said Caesar Sengupta, GM & VP of Payments and Next Billion Users, Google. “We are investing in helping Indian businesses go digital and helping Indian workers learn, grow and find better jobs,” he said. Google announced a new edutainment series on Doordarshan, in collaboration with Prasar Bharati on how small and medium businesses can adopt digital tools to adapt to the current situation.

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India said, “I welcome Google’s commitment to invest in India over the next 5 years and we look forward to Google’s work in transforming India into a global knowledge superpower, with a focus on science and research.”