PM Modi, Sundar Pichai discuss Google’s plans to boost manufacturing in India 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his virtual interaction with the CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, discussed Google's plan to participate in expanding the electronics manufacturing ecosystem in India. 

The PM appreciates Google’s partnership with HP to manufacture Chromebooks in India and acknowledges Google’s 100 languages initiative, a PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) statement says. 

He also appreciates efforts to make AI tools available in Indian languages and encouraged Google to work on “AI tools for good governance”. The PM also welcomes Google’s plans to open its global fintech operations center at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar.

Pichai says Google is working towards “improving financial inclusion in India by leveraging the strength and reach of GPay and UPI”. 

The PM also invites Google to contribute to the upcoming Global Partnership on AI Summit, which will be hosted by India in December 2023 in New Delhi.

The development comes just days after Google on October 2, 2023, partnered with laptop major HP to manufacture Chromebooks in India. Google's new category of Chromebooks, called Chromebook Plus, offers built-in Google apps and powerful AI capabilities.

Chromebook Plus will have eight new laptops namely -- Acer Chromebook Plus 515, Acer Chromebook Plus 514, Asus Chromebook Plus CM34 Flip, Asus Chromebook Plus CX34, HP Chromebook Plus 15.6 inch, HP Chromebook x360 14-inch, Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus, and Lenovo Slim 3i Chromebook Plus.

In August 2023, the technology behemoth added a generative artificial intelligence (AI) feature to its search tool for users in India and Japan.

Over the past few months, Google has been experimenting with bringing generative AI capabilities into Search. "We've learned a lot from people trying Search Generative Experience (SGE) in Search Labs, and we've also added new capabilities, from bringing videos and images into responses to local information and travel recommendations," Google says.

Search trends on misinformation have already recorded an all-time high in India in 2023. To this end, Google's 'About this result' feature was launched this year in nine Indian languages.

"Now, whether you’re searching in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, or Punjabi, you’ll see the three dots next to most results on Google Search. Tapping those three dots gives you a way to learn more about where the information you’re seeing is coming from and how our systems determined that it might be useful for your query," says Google.

Google also launched Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, with AI at the centre, earlier this month. Powered by Google Tensor G3, the Pixel 8 is priced at an MRP of ₹75,999, and the Pixel 8 Pro is priced at an MRP of ₹106,999 in India.