tech2 News Staff

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is in India on a private holiday trip, but will host an event on 4 January where new announcements for small businesses and startups are expected, according to a report in BGR. The event will be attended by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, as well as senior Google officials. The event is likely to see participation by Google in the Startup India and Digital India initiatives by the government.

Google introduced the "My Business" app in Rajasthan. The application provides a one point interface for small business owners to feed in and update information about their businesses on Google Search and Google Maps. Business owners can directly feed in the working hours, vacations, contact details and locations. The accounts are authenticated by Google, and the listings can be used by consumers to provide feedback and write reviews. Business owners can add photos to the listing, and respond to the reviews.

Google has previously encouraged startups in India by selecting seven Indian startups for the Launchpad Accelerator program. The program selects promising Startups, provides them $50,000 (roughly Rs 33,98,250) equity free funding each, identifies the critical challenges, and provides hands on training to tackle these issues. The startup teams will receive guidance from Google Engineers, product managers and mentors from other tech firms in Silicon valley.

The conference is the latest in a series of initiatives by Google of improving its presence in India. The move comes close on the heels of Google India collaborating with Ministry of Consumer Affairs to improve online consumer protection. The partnership between Google and Railtel to provide free Wi-Fi hotspots in railway stations has recently reached a milestone of 100 railway stations. The project is called Railwire Wi-Fi, and aims to provide free wi-fi services in 400 stations across India.