HYDERABAD: Deepening its ties with the State government in the quest to achieve Digital Telangana, and to extend the benefits of the digital economy to youth and women entrepreneurs, Google has partnered with the State government, to support and accelerate its vision of leveraging technology for sustainable economic development and inclusive social development.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in the presence of IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, Country Head and Vice-President of Google India Sanjay Gupta, Principal Secretary for ITE&C Jayesh Ranjan and others on Thursday to that effect.
Under the new initiative, Google will collaborate with the State government through its various arms to extend scholarships for Google Career Certificates to Telangana’s youth, support women, entrepreneurs, through digital, business and financial skills training, and strengthen the Government’s school modernization efforts with digital teaching and learning tools and solutions. As part of the joint effort, Google will also support the Telangana government’s efforts to improve public transportation and use of digital technologies in agriculture.
Underlining its commitment to investing and expanding its presence in Telangana, Google has also unveiled the design of its ground-up development at the 7.3-acre site it had acquired in Gachibowli in 2019. The 3 million square foot building prioritises sustainability and energy efficiency throughout its design. Upon commissioning, it will offer a highly-skilled tech workforce a healthy, collaborative workplace that is both resilient and adaptable, designed to serve the city for years to come.
Speaking on the occasion, KT Rama Rao has appreciated Google for having its largest presence outside the US, in Hyderabad, which has contributed to the growth of technology, shaping the image of Telangana.
He said that the MOU was now focusing on making a step-change in communities such as youth, women, children, and most importantly, in enhancing citizen services.
With the ‘Google Career Scholarship Certificates,’ he said that Google was helping the deserving youth in high-demand fields like IT support, IT automation, UX design, data analytics and project management, being implemented in collaboration with Telangana Academy of Skills and Knowledge (TASK).
He said that Google would work in partnership with We-Hub, to roll out ‘Women Will,’ a program to improve digital, business and financial skills in nano, micro and small women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs of Telangana.
He said that Google would be working with the Emerging Technologies wing of ITE&C department, to improve digitization of agriculture through Agritech solutions.
“This sort of multi-disciplinary collaboration will make it more and more useful for not only providing employment but also providing a great deal for citizen services,” he has observed.
Sanjay Gupta, who has appreciated Rama Rao for putting a vision and incredible infrastructure in place, and Jayesh Ranjan for bringing that vision to life, which has helped Hyderabad to prosper, has stated that Google will always cherish it.
Calling Hyderabad the ‘home’ which is very special for the entire team of Google, he said that the MOU has only made it a ‘bigger home,’ so that the company’s belief in making the internet safer for a billion Indians, to which it stood for, could be achieved.
He spoke about how Google has helped make information available for people looking for it during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how Google maps have helped the people locate their nearest vaccination centers.
He also spoke about how ‘Google Bolo App’ developed in its Hyderabad campus, had gone global, which was helping children learn multiple languages through stories, also mentioning how Youtube has been helping people tell their stories from the convenience of their homes.
“It is our CEO Sundar Pichai’s belief that when we solve for India, we solve for the world. With the new initiative, we are solving for children to use technology to learn digital skills, and empowering the youth and women to become entrepreneurs. We are going to try things never been tried before, bet it in transportation, or agriculture,” he said.
Jayesh Ranjan said that the new initiative in the mobility sector would help reduce commute time in Hyderabad which has been higher and in helping double the farmers’ incomes by using Agritech to address the issues in the agricultural sector.