Google to set up global fintech operations centre in Gujarat; to invest $10 bn in India's digitisation fund: Sundar Pichai

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Friday said that the tech major will open its global fintech operation centre in Gujarat and invest $10 billion in India’s digitisation fund. He made this announcement after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington earlier in the day.

“It was an honour to meet PM Modi during the historic visit to the US. We shared with the prime minister that Google is investing $10 billion in India's digitisation fund. We are announcing the opening of our global fintech operation centre in GIFT City, Gujarat,” Pichai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

He added: "We are continuing to invest through that, including in companies working on artificial intelligence. As part of that, we have a 100-language initiative. We are bringing bot to more Indian languages very soon." 

The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, which is popularly known as the GIFT city, is in Gandhinagar.

He also praised the Prime Minister's vision for Digital India, the flagship campaign of the Modi-led government. He said that the digital campaign is a blueprint that other countries are looking to adopt. "The PM's vision for Digital India was way ahead of his time and I now see it as a blueprint that other countries are looking to do," he said.

 

In July 2020, Google announced its plans to invest $10 billion in India over the next five to seven years as the search giant looks to help accelerate the adoption of digital services in the key overseas market.

Last year in December, Pichai had announced that a part of the India Digitisation Fund (IDF) will be  focusing on Indian startups and one-fourth amount of $300 million from the fund will be invested in entities that are led by women.

India-US Hi-Tech Handshake event

PM Modi and US President Joe Biden on Friday met US and Indian business leaders at the White House, which was attended by several top CEOs.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, Reliance Industries Chairman & MD Mukesh Ambani, Zerodha & True Beacon Co-Founder Nikhil Kamath, Sam Altman of OpenAI were among those who attended the meeting.