We have to thank Google for easing our lives, especially the lives of people who own small businesses. The ninth annual Google for India event was held in New Delhi. Below are the five highlights that were announced at the event.
Manufacturing pixel smartphones
In early October, Google launched Pixel 8 series and Pixel Watch 2 which had the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), stated a report. Recently, the technological giant announced the plan to begin the manufacturing of pixel smartphones in India beginning with Pixel 8. This is an attempt to spread its availability across the country.
They are likely to be rolled out in the coming year.
Bettering offerings through AI and local partnerships
Very soon, AI-powered overviews for more than 100 crucial government programs around employment, housing, healthcare, farming, women’s welfare, and more will begin to surface.
Search features with the intention of helping small businesses surface better in the search results will be rolled out too. With the help of Generative AI, the businesses will be able to create high-quality catalogues of their products.
Small benefits: G-Pay users and small businesses
The users of Google Pay or G-Pay will be able to easily find and make payments for pre-approved credit lines from banks, stated Google blog. The small businesses of India will also have access to formal credit, the blog mentioned.
Google Cloud and its partnerships
To help people and small businesses reap the benefits out of technology, Google Cloud has announced collaborations with India’s key organisations.
Google Cloud and Axis My India, a media company, launched a superapp called ‘a’. As mentioned by Google blog, the intention is to grow the awareness of people and their access to government social welfare programs, day-to-day amenities, employment opportunities and healthcare benefits.
Google Cloud also announced a partnership with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to help Farmer Producer Organizations to sell their products online. This was followed by a collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India’s international arm. This is in order to introduce real-time payment systems through UPI for frictionless overseas payments.
DigiKavach initiative
Google announced DigiKavach initiative, where the tech giant will work with industry partners and experts to help combat online financial fraud. The program will focus on how scammers operate. Here, work will be done in tandem to come up with countermeasures to emerging scams.