‘Google for India 2023’: Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reveals favourite Google product
When asked about his most liked Google product, Vaishnaw said, “My favourite Google product… I really like YouTube. YouTube is very good.”
Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, speaking at the 'Google for India 2023' event, said on Thursday that his favourite Google product was YouTube.
When asked about his most liked Google product, Vaishnaw said, “My favourite Google product… I really like YouTube. YouTube is very good.”
At the ninth edition of the annual India-specific event hosted by Google's parent company Alphabet Inc., the tech giant announced that it will be manufacturing its Pixel smartphones in India.
Responding to the announcement, Vaishnaw said that this was a reflection of the growth of India's ecosystem which has led people to trust it.
“Just about nine years back electronics manufacturing was negligible in the country. Mobile manufacturing was practically not there, almost 98 per cent of mobile phones that we used were imported. In a short time span of nine years, our PM Modi's vision of 'Digital India', 'Make in India' and 'Startup India' this bouquet of programs has established India as a trusted value chain partner,” Vaishnaw told news agency ANI.
Expressing his happiness, the Union Minister added that all big electronic manufacturers were now setting up their designs in India.
Speaking about the craziest ideas he had when he was a student at IIT Kanpur, Vaishnaw said that what was once a distant dream has become a reality over time.
“We used to think that when will the day come when we actually play chess with a computer. We used to have lots of competitions in which through programming, the program should solve the most difficult problems of chess. We used to think when can we start conversing with a computer - we are already conversing on a phone. That is a game-changer,” he said as reported by Moneycontrol.
Speaking on Google manufacturing Pixel smartphones in India, Vaishnaw as quoted by Moneycontrol that around ten years ago, the electronics manufactured in India were a small section — about $20-25 million — however, today it has grown fourfold — to about $105 million.
“The component ecosystem, very crucial for the growth of the economy, is also developing very rapidly. Mobile manufacturing was practically negligible nine years back. Today we have a $44 billion mobile manufacturing industry with exports totaling $11 billion. This is good for Google, good for India,” he added.
He also told ANI that domestic manufacturers were scaling up production in India too. “I can share with you that one factory near Delhi, which is going to start soon, that factory will have 20,000 people working in a single factory, that is the kind of change that is happening today.”
Sundar Pichai on the event
Speaking about the event, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “We shared plans at #GoogleforIndia to manufacture Pixel smartphones locally and expect the first devices to roll out in 2024. We’re committed to being a trusted partner in India’s digital growth- appreciate the support for Make In India @PMOIndia + MEIT Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw.”
He added, “We also introduced a more visual + local generative AI experience on Search to help surface AI-powered overviews on essential government programs, new Search features for small businesses, easier access to formal credit via Google Pay + more.”
