Google Ties Up With Telangana For Inclusive Digitisation Through Telugu Content

In a continued stride to bring digital services to the citizens of Telangana, Google has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government to localise official web and governance content. Under this MoU, Google will work to help digitise the state government’s content in Telugu using digital publishing tool, Navlekha. The digitisation is expected to help common citizens access information and services on government websites in local languages better.

Moreover, Google will also collaborate with the state government to support its digital literacy vision and aid in the overall digitisation agenda of the state. Prior to this, Google has been collaborating with Telangana government for the rollout of a number of initiatives aimed at bridging the digital divide, mentoring local startups, and enabling small and medium businesses to gain from the internet.

Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary ITE&C and Industries Department of the Telangana government said, “We look forward to collaborating with Google to meet the vision of the internet for all which is part of Digital Telangana, increasing native language content available over the internet and improve the usability of Google Maps in villages and rural regions as well.”

Google will also be involved in providing technical mentorship and advisory support to various government departments for successful implementation of multiple digital projects.

Chetan Krishnaswamy, Google India and South Asia director, public policy, said, “Improving access to Government’s vast pool of information online in local languages can significantly contribute to developing an inclusive web experience for all citizens.”

Telangana’s Strides In Digitisation

As the newest state of India, Telangana has the desire to push for new innovation and growth through the use of technology. The state’s capital Hyderabad was already home to global majors such as Facebook, Google, and the state is now looking to expand its egovernance base and foster development through inclusion.

The state government has also been pushing for blockchain, electric vehicles, drones and much more. Telangana government launched a Blockchain District in Hyderabad, Telangana. In May, the state government announced a draft blockchain policy to offer regulatory and policy support for blockchain startups based in Hyderabad. “This one of its kind initiative will aim to put all blockchain companies based out of Hyderabad at a strategically advantageous position globally,” the policy noted.

The Telangana government has also been pushing electric vehicle adoption for the past couple of years. In October 2017, the state had shared its draft policy which focussed on helping manufacturers, brought in support for users who want to shift to electric vehicles and to create infrastructure.

The government was also launching its prototyping centre T-Works for electronics, electromechanical and mechanical startups and individuals. The state government continues to invest heavily for the startup ecosystem as it puts it $8.22 Mn (INR 60 Cr) for the hub, out of which $5.48 Mn (INR 40 Cr) will be spent on the building and equipment— to be purchased both by the government and partnering companies.

The state’s T-Hub incubator has also been a success story and one of the great examples of its efforts to foster the startup ecosystem. As the Telangana seeks to boost the startup ecosystem with the new age technologies at the interception, a collaboration with a tech giant like Google is expected to yield desired results.