US-headquartered technology company Google is reportedly planning to develop a website, Bharat Saves, to offer information on financial planning.
The target consumers for this platform will be homemakers, small business owners, the newly employed, retired persons and farmers. The tech giant is aiming to align the website to the government’s financial inclusion Jan Dhan Yojana initiative.
Speaking off record, a senior finance ministry official told ET that Google is in talks with the government and that the company’s proposal is being “examined”. He said the digital platform “may provide a range of financial literacy tools and information on financial products”.
Bharat Saves will be an app and website, designed by Google. In the first leg, users have to log in and complete financial literacy modules. The users will get a certification after they take a financial literacy test. The certifications for the same will be given by the Indian government, Google, and an industry organisation.
Commenting on the development, a Google spokesperson said, “In line with the Prime Minister’s vision to create greater financial inclusion…various BFSI (Banking, Financial Services & Insurance) organisations and industry associations are coming together to launch a digital platform”.
This is not Google’s first stint of collaborating with an Indian government body. In May 2016, Google’s Access & Energy Team in partnership with RailTel India, extended free Wi-Fi service for passengers traveling from Ujjain, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati, and Allahabad railway stations. The Railtel-Google free high-speed public Wi-Fi service is currently available at Mumbai Central, Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, Kacheguda, Ernakulum Jn, Vishakhapatnam, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati, Ujjain, and Allahabad.
