Google, TS to harness tech to support youth, women

Hyderabad: Global tech giant Google on Thursday signed an MoU with the Telangana government to support and accelerate state's vision of leveraging technology for sustainable economic development and inclusive social development.

From extending Google Career Certificate scholarships to Telangana's youngsters to make them job-ready, the company will collaborate with the TS government through its various arms to support women entrepreneurs through digital, business and financial skills training, and strengthen the government's school modernization efforts with digital teaching and learning tools and solutions. As part of the joint effort, Google will also support Telangana government's efforts to improve public transportation and the use of digital technologies in agriculture.

Underlining its commitment to investing and expanding its presence in Telangana, Google also unveiled the design of its ground-up development at the 7.3-acre site for the largest campus it acquired in Gachibowli in 2019. The 3 million square-feet building prioritizes sustainability and energy efficiency in its design. IT Minister K T Rama Rao unveiled the building design at a ceremony held on site. KTR said he was super excited to break the ground for Google's largest campus outside of its headquarters at Mountain View in the US.

An agreement was signed between the Telangana government and Google in 2015 when KTR had visited the company headquarters in California.

Upon commissioning, the facility will offer a highly-skilled tech workforce a healthy and collaborative workplace that is both resilient and adaptable, designed to serve the city for years to come. The campus was originally planned as a 2 million-square-feet facility with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

Google currently operates out of a leased facility in Kondapur in Hyderabad and employs about 7,000 people. The new campus, which was earlier expected to be ready in 2019, is likely to nearly double the headcount. Noting that Google has been working with the Telangana government since 2017, using its solutions to support the state's vision of a 'Digital Telangana', KTR said, "Our previous MoUs with Google have resulted in some great initiatives that have positively affected citizens from all walks of life. This time we are focusing on making a step change in communities such as youth, women, and students and citizen services."

Elaborating on the MoU, Sanjay Gupta, country head & vice president, Google India, said that his company's efforts and investments in Hyderabad are part of its larger commitment to India and are designed to address key areas of the country's rapidly-changing digital landscape.

"These efforts complement our overarching mission in India, which focuses on enabling more affordable access to the internet for every Indian, building safer and new helpful experiences that answer India's distinct needs, empowering businesses of all sizes as they make their digital transformation journey, and using the power of AI to address big social challenges," Gupta said.