India's G20 Presidency will boost global economy, open Internet: Sundar Pichai

New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) India taking over the G20 Presidency will be an amazing opportunity to build consensus on strengthening the global economy by advancing an internet that is open, connected, secure and works for everyone, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said.

Pichai, who received the Padma Bhushan, India's highest civilian honour, from India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, in San Francisco, said that it is incredibly meaningful to be honoured in this way "by the country that shaped me".

"India is a part of me. I carry it with me wherever I go. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that cherished learning and knowledge, with parents who sacrificed a lot to make sure I had opportunities to explore my interests," Pichai said in a blog post late on Friday.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' vision has certainly been an accelerator, "and I'm proud that Google continues to invest in India, partnering with governments, businesses and communities over two transformative decades".

Google recently announced to invest $10 billion in India's digital future, working to enable more affordable internet access, building products for India's unique needs, helping businesses of all sizes in their digital transformation, and using AI to tackle big societal challenges.

"We're also investing deeply in digital skilling and have trained over 1 million women through our WomenWill Entrepreneurship Program and over 55,000 teachers in partnership with the government and local organisations," said Pichai.

The tech giant also sponsored over 100,000 Google Career Certificate sponsorships in collaboration with the Nasscom Foundation and Tata Strive.

"Earlier this year, we added 24 new languages to Google Translate using a new advancement in machine learning. Eight of them are languages native to India," said Pichai.