Google to Launch Fintech Operation Center in GIFT City, Gujarat

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced that it will establish its global fintech operation centre at GIFT City in Gujarat, India. Pichai shared this news after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently visiting the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. During his visit, Modi engaged with several top CEOs, including Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Tim Cook of Apple, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Lisa Su of AMD.

Pichai emphasized that Google remains committed to investing in India through its USD 10 billion India Digitization Fund. He expressed excitement about India's progress, particularly in terms of the Digital India vision and the economic opportunities it presents. Pichai praised Modi's foresight in envisioning a Digital India ahead of its time.

"Today, we are announcing the opening of our global fintech operations centre in GIFT City, Gujarat. It will cement India's fintech leadership, thanks to UPI and Aadhaar. We are going to build on that foundation and take it globally," Pichai said.

The Ministry of External Affairs tweeted that Prime Minister Modi invited Pichai to explore further collaboration in India's artificial intelligence, fintech, cybersecurity products and services, and mobile device manufacturing. "I now see it as a blueprint that other countries are looking to do so," Pichai said.

Google's plans to invest USD 10 billion in India over the next five to seven years were announced in July 2020. The company aims to accelerate the adoption of digital services in one of its most important overseas markets. In December of the same year, Pichai revealed that a portion of the India Digitization Fund would support Indian startups, with a quarter of the fund's USD 300 million earmarked for entities led by women.

Notably, Google has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru to collect speech data from 773 districts across India. This initiative aims to enhance language translation and search technology. Additionally, Google has allocated a grant of USD 1 million to establish India's first artificial intelligence centre at IIT Madras. Another USD 1 million grant via Google.org has been given to Wadhwani AI for leveraging advanced technology to improve agricultural outcomes.

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