Google for India 2019: 9 major announcements from Google's India event Thursday Sep 19,2019

 

Google hosted the fifth edition of its annual Google for India event in New Delhi on Thursday, September 19,2019

The event, the first edition of which the tech giant hosted back in 2015, saw Google announcing a host of updates to its platforms. 

The event also saw the company announcing new products and initiatives that are designed specifically for the Indian users. 

From bringing support for various Indic languages onto a number of platforms such as Search, Lens and Bolo to announcing a new artificial intelligence (AI) based lab in India, Google for India event 2019 saw the company going all 'desi' and introducing feartures that cater to the masses.In addition to this, the event also saw Google introducing products and initiatives - such as the Digital Payment Abiyan and the Vodafone-Idea Phone Line -- that connect more people, especially the ones who live in areas that lack internet connectivity, who are not adept at using technology in a convinient way 

1)Google Research India




Google announced that it would be opening  a research lab in Bengaluru that would focus on the advancement of Computer Science Research in Indiaand applying this research for solving big problems related to healthcare, education and agriculture. The lab would be led by noted Indian scientist and ACM fellow Dr Manish Gupta.

2)Free public Wi-Fi

Last year Google added 400th station -- Dibrugarh in Assam - to its network of Google Stations in India. This year Google announced that it would expand this program of providing free public Wi-Fi to people living in areas without internet connectivity
Google has partnered with BSNL for this initiative ad it would provide this service in the villages of Maharashtra,Gujarat and Bihar


3)Vodafone-Idea Phone Line

Google is partnering with Vodafone-Idea to bring Google Assistant to people in areas with poor internet connectivity. Vodafone users who are still using 2G networks can now call a toll-free number - 000-800-9191-000 - to ask their queries to Google, which would then answer them actively.

4)Language decoupling in Google Assistant

Google Assistant suports a total of nine Indian languages. However, users were required to manually set their local language in their smartphones to use it. But now, users will be able to use a local language simply by saying - "Hey Google, talk to me in Hindi". Google has started rolling out this feature on all Android, Android Go and KaiOs devices.

5)Interpreter mode in Google Assistant

Now Google Assistant will be able to act as a real-time interpreter between two people who don't speak the same language.
To launch the interpreter mode,all users need to say is '' OK Google,help me speak in Hindi'' This feature will be available on Android and Android Go phones in India in the coming months.
Also, soon Android user will be able to access Google Assistant in Hindi on all Android TVs.

6)Discover gets 7 new languages

Google introduced support for 7 Indian languages in the Discover section of its Google app  This includes -- Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam. Google will introduce support for Oriya, Urdu, Punjabi in the coming months.

7)Lens gets smarter and better

 Google introduced a number of new features on to Google Lens.
-- One, users will be translate information road sign or a poster or a menu by taking a photo, tapping on the translate button and selecting their prefered language.
-- Two, with Google Lens users can now tap on a word and launch Search directly to look for the details pertaining to the word.
-- Three, Google Lens is getting support for Tamil, Telugu and Marathi.

8)Bolo gets new languages
 
 Earlier this year Google launched the Bolo app in Hindi and in English. Now, Google has added support for five Indian languages in Bolo app. This includes -- Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Google has also partnered with Chotta Bheem and Katha Kids to expand the catalogue of stories from around 40 to over 500 stories.


9) Google Pay goes big

-- One, Google announced Spot platform in Google Pay. This would merchants to create a branded commercial experience within Google Pay. While merchants will be able to showcase their entire catalogue of products in these Spots, users will be able to select items and pay for them all without leaving Google Pay. Google has started rolling out Spot and at present it is available for Make My Trip, Eat.Fit, Go ibibo, Oven Story, redBus and UrbanClap.

-- Google also introduced a Job Spot which would enable job-seekers to look for entry-level jobs, make a CV and interact with potential employer all within Google Pay.

-- Google also introduced tokenised cards in Google Pay. Tokenized card would pass on a digital token to the merchant from which you purchase a product or a service instead of your actual card number, which would protect you from banking frauds. This functionality will be available for Visa cards by HDFC, SBI, Axis, Kotak and Standard Chartered banks, in coming weeks and it would extend the support to cover Mastercard and Rupay cards in the coming months.

Google Pay Business

 Google India also launched a special version of Google Pay for merchants. Google Pay for Business would allow small merchants and storefronts to enable digital payments without the hassle of time-consuming verification process.




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