Google $GOOGL wants to be the go-to service for the next billion internet users in India.
On Dec. 05, the internet search giant made a slew of “India first” announcements—some new, some revamped. This included incorporating lighter-versions of its signature apps as well as freshly-minted ones, additional features on its payments app, and specialised navigation assistance for motorcyclists on Maps, among others.
The tech behemoth hopes these will “help more people discover how the internet can make life easier and more convenient,” Caesar Sengupta, vice-president of the company’s Next Billion Users initiative, said. The announcements were made at the third edition of Google for India, the company’s flagship annual event in the country.
“We’ll stay focused until every single Indian is connected,” Rajan Anandan, Google’s vice-president for south Asia and India, said. Despite being the world’s second-largest internet market, India has around 900 million people who do not have access to the net.
Here’s everything Google said at Google for India:
The largest subsidiary of American conglomerate Alphabet, headed by India-born CEO Sundar Pichai, Google has an impressive number of users for its several services in the country, as per the updates it shared on Dec. 05:
Google, like other internet players, has been trying to launch lighter versions of its products, so that they work well on India’s slow internet speeds and on low-end smartphones. To make deeper inroads, it has launched:
In September, Google entered India’s already crowded e-transactions space with its app Tez. Until now, the service was used for peer-to-peer transactions and payments to merchants.
At the Dec. 05 event, Google announced that Tez will start facilitating bill payments, much like its competitor Paytm already does. “More than 70 billers will be supported, including utilities and direct-to-home service providers,” Sengupta said. Among the billers included are Tata Power, MTNL, and DishTV, as well as national and state utility providers for electricity, water, and gas.
Recognising India’s status as the world’s largest two-wheeler market, Google Maps will now have a special feature: the two-wheeler mode.
“…the navigation needs of these millions of riders are different from automobile drivers,” said Martha Welsh, the director of Google Maps. “Two-wheeler mode in Maps gives routes that use shortcuts not accessible to cars. It also provides customised traffic and arrival time estimations.”
Google Assistant, which has thus far run only on smartphones, will be available on a feature phone for the first time.
Google has created a special version of its virtual assistant for Reliance Jio’s “fully refundable” Rs1,500 4G-enabled handsets. Assistant will be available on JioPhone in Hindi and English. “(It) can help make phone calls, text, play music and videos, navigate and search the internet and access other apps,” Gummi Hafsteinsson, Google’s product management director, said. Led by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, Jio was launched in September 2016 promising “free” data during the initial promotional period. At the end of this period, it would offer the world’s cheapest internet data at Rs50 ($0.7) per gigabyte (GB). Jio’s subscriber base is now 130 million-strong.
Google’s Assistant is the second such feature on the JioPhone, which already has its own assistant, HelloJio. But we’re guessing Google’s will be better.
