Google investing USD 10 billion in India's digitisation fund: Pichai tells PM Modi
Washington (PTI): Internet giant Google is investing USD 10 billion in India's digitisation fund, its CEO Sundar Pichai has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a step that will recognise India's leadership on fintech and will support small and large businesses in India, the US and around the world.
Pichai met Prime Minister Modi here on Friday and also announced the opening of Google's global fintech operation centre in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar.
"It was an honour to meet Prime Minister Modi during the historic visit to the US. We shared with the Prime Minister that Google is investing USD 10 billion in India's digitisation fund," Pichai said.
"We are announcing the opening of our global fintech operation centre in GIFT City, Gujarat. PM's vision for Digital India was way ahead of his time I now see it as a blueprint that other countries are looking to do," he added.
"Google today announced that it will open a Google Fintech Global Operations Center in GIFT City, Gujarat, with teams working on specialised operations supporting GPay and other product operations at Google," a Google spokesperson told PTI.
"This recognises India's leadership on fintech and will support small and large businesses in India, the US and around the world," the spokesperson said after the meeting between Pichai and the Prime Minister.
Google has been operating in India since 2004, with offices in five key cities across the country with thousands of talented employees. We currently have offices in Bangalore (Bengaluru), Hyderabad, Gurgaon - Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Pune, the spokesperson said.
In 2020, deepening its commitment to India and a reflection of its confidence in India's growing role in the global technology arena, Google announced the Google for India Digitisation fund, a commitment to invest USD 10 billion (approximately Rs 75,000 crores) focussing on four areas.
First, enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language. Second, building new services that are relevant to India's unique needs. Third, empowering businesses as they embark on digital transformation. Fourth, leveraging technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for social good.
Towards the end of last year, Google also announced support for Early Stage Startups with a particular focus on women-led startups under the India Digitisation fund.
Using AI to further India's digital transformation journey, Google AI Research Center in Bengaluru is building models to support over 100 Indian languages, and working with the Indian Institute of Science to support open sourcing of speech data through India's Bhashini project.
It has also partnered with IIT Madras to establish a multidisciplinary Center for Responsible AI.
With a focus to support businesses and governments to run on Cloud, Google Cloud has been playing a pivotal role in bringing innovative cloud technologies to India and being a part of India's digital transformation journey.
India's biggest enterprises and unicorns like Jio, Adani, Mahindra Group, Sharechat, HDFC Bank, Glance Roposo and hundreds of others are today benefiting from Google Cloud and AI offerings. To support this growing demand, Google Cloud now has 2 cloud regions in Delhi NCR and Mumbai respectively, a media release said.
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MP HC sets up judicial commission to probe water contamination in Indore
Indore (PTI): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday set up a commission of inquiry comprising a former HC judge to probe the issue of water contamination in city's Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and "urgent judicial scrutiny".
It also directed the commission to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission while hearing several public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day, and released it late at night.
The state government on Tuesday told the HC that the deaths of 16 people in Indore's Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city's Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government's use of the term "verbal autopsy" in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was "alarming," and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore.
In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.
According to the petitioners and media reports, death toll is about 30 till today, but the report depicts only 16 without any basis or record, it said.
It is averred that sewage mixing, leakage in the pipeline, and failure of civic authorities to maintain potable water standards have led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Photographs, medical reports, and complaints submitted to the authorities prima facie indicate a matter requiring urgent judicial scrutiny, the HC said.
"Considering the gravity of the allegation and affecting the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the need for an independent fact-finding exercise, the Court is of the opinion that the matter requires investigation by an independent, credible authority," it said.
"Accordingly, we appoint Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, Indore, and its impact on other areas of the city," the HC added.
As per the order, the commission shall inquire into and submit a report on the cause of contamination -- whether the drinking water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated; and the source and nature of contamination (sewage ingress, industrial discharge, pipeline damage etc).
The panel will also probe the number of actual deaths of affected residents on account of contaminated water; find out the nature of disease reported and adequacy of medical response and preventive measures; suggest immediate steps required to ensure safe drinking water as well as long-term infrastructural and monitoring reforms.
It will also identify and fix responsibility upon the officers and officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water contamination incident, and suggest guidelines for compensation to affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
The commission shall have powers of a civil court for the purpose of summoning officials and witnesses; calling up records from the government department, hospitals, laboratories and civic bodies; ordering water quality testing through accredited laboratories; conducting spot inspections.
All state authorities involving district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation, public health engineering department and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board shall extend full co-operation and provide records as sought by the commission, it said.
The state government shall provide office space, staff, and logistical support to the commission, it said.
During the hearing in the day, the state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water.
