Google on Thursday announced major artificial intelligence (AI) projects, including the Gemini model enhancing Google Search and Maps, and expanded Indian language support, apart from Google Wallet that will now integrate health ID cards.
The company’s AI voice chat feature, Gemini Live, is being rolled out in Hindi, with eight more Indian languages — Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Urdu — to follow in the coming weeks.
Gemini mobile app is helping users in India tackle a wide range of tasks — from academic help and creative inspiration to understanding complex information and get all of this done in their preferred language, the company said.
“Today, our objective is to make the promise of AI real for every Indian, illustrating the many ways it can supercharge our collective potential. AI can galvanise the ways in which every citizen can become as unlimited as their imagination, revolutionise critical areas like healthcare and agriculture, and help transform India’s demographic advantage into a true demographic dividend,” Roma Datta Chobey, Managing Director, Google India, said.
Speaking at the tenth edition of ‘Google for India’, Chobey called AI as a force multiplier that helps to make India’s vastness manageable while amplifying individual capabilities.
“At Google, we are committed to collaborating with the nation’s experts, innovators, and policymakers, to help India achieve her ambitious goals with AI. We’re doing this by democratising access to information, investing in infrastructure to build a thriving AI ecosystem, and equipping individuals with the skills to succeed in an AI-powered future,” she said.
In India, with over 40 per cent of Gemini’s Indian language users already relying on voice interactions, Google recently launched Gemini Live in English for even more free-flowing voice conversations with Gemini on phone. Gemini Live responds in real-time, adapts to the user’s conversation style and allows them to interrupt, ask follow-up questions, or come back later.
The company has also announced a new AI Skills House that aims to educate 10 million Indians in the next few years. Learners can access resources, including Google’s flagship AI courses, on YouTube and Google Cloud Skills Boost. Further, Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org is supporting Central Square Foundation with a $4 million grant as it empowers India’s next generation with AI awareness and literacy.
Additionally, Google emphasises online safety and sustainability partnerships, it said adding that to better protect Android users from financial fraud, Google is soon piloting enhanced fraud protection within Google Play Protect in India.
Further Google also announced to establish a new Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC) in India in 2025.
In the Cloud segment, Google said it is set to launch ‘Gemini Flash 1.5’ in India, which will give Indian organisations including the public sector, the option to both store their data at-rest and conduct machine learning process, entirely within India.
Expanding GPay offerings
Google also said that it is expanding GPay offerings by introducing gold-backed secured loans in collaboration with Muthoot Finance. People across India can now access this credit product, with affordable interest rates and flexible usage options--delivering flexibility to the borrower, and security to the lender, it said.
Meanwhile, Google said it is also partnering with Adani Group to procure bundled energy solutions and advance decarbonisation of Google’s cloud services in India. This includes clean energy supply from a 61.4 MW solar-wind hybrid plant to be developed in Khavda, Gujarat, and expected to start commercial operations in 2025.