Category Archives: Google India Blog

The Official Google Blog for India

Backing Asia Pacific’s emerging newsroom leaders

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LsnlVi66dlG8uaMR_EBMRZE0yy6PZ2tzTXjWTjCOrZRbElh_lOccSB_D-jQ--4Ghfh5l3tnAs4v_fkv33IN4hzuEU_6faorMcFDyMPBrZg6aWE8Cp_qN-XdKgn02JnBHiRaJX0lE Irene Jay Liu News Lab Lead Asia Pacific


Our 2019-2020 Fellows, as pictured from left to right, starting from the top left: Gyanu Adhikari, Phillip O’Sullivan, Akane Imamura, Betina Hughes, Danielle Cronin, Marium Chaudhry, Nitya Thirumalai, Hyuntaek Lee, Ragamalika Karthikeyan, Yusuf Wijanarko, Anisa Menur Maulani, and Lynn D’Cruz
Across Asia Pacific, a new generation of journalists is telling the region’s stories and tackling the challenges facing the news industry. The Google News Initiative (GNI) Newsroom Leadership Program, a collaboration between GNI and the Columbia School of Journalism, was established to develop the business and product expertise of these emerging newsroom leaders. Today we’re announcing the 2019-2020 Program fellows and sharing more about their projects.  


The projects they chose are as diverse as their backgrounds. These journalists hail from Pakistan to Japan, India to Australia. They’ll be looking at how digital tools can make great storytelling even better, championing socially-conscious reporting and investigating new approaches to political polling. And they’ll explore new membership and revenue models for news, helping fund the future of journalism in their countries. 


As they work on their projects, the fellows will take part in seminars and develop professional networks across the region. To find out more, we spoke to Raju Narisetti, the Director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism and Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia, who helped develop the program. 


What are the skills you think emerging newsroom leaders need to be successful today?
The most critical skill is an understanding of the business of journalism and the forces shaping the industry. They also need to hone the ability to think of content as a product, and the willingness to let data inform their decisions. These “hard” skills need to be coupled with “power skills” like developing diverse teams, leading with purpose and managing relentless change.


How do you think the GNI Newsroom Leadership Program addresses this?
The fellows will experience a mix of theory and practice in seminars during their in-residence weeks at Columbia School of Journalism.  Practitioners as well as academics will deliver the sessions, which are specifically designed for the media industry. Topics will range from revenue streams and media sustainability to building video, audience and analytics frameworks and teams for the next decade. They’ll also get hands-on workshops on developing leadership and “managing up.”


What words of advice do you have for the fellows as they prepare to go through the program?
Be really present during the in-residency classroom weeks, because your day job will still be waiting for you. Think of the other participants as a learning and sharing opportunity that can become a professional support network during the year and beyond. And have strong beliefs (about your project or the news business), but hold them loosely, so you can embrace new ideas and solutions.


Posted by Irene Jay Liu, News Lab Lead, Asia Pacific

Introducing Google Nest Hub, Made by Google’s first display device

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IwDzuNdILgs/XWOBn6c8MQI/AAAAAAAAA4E/4EU4-tETX98cUJ_uVhw2VRShsfvflKW_QCLcBGAs/s1600/Nest%2BHub.png Saurabh Arya India Business Lead Google Home and Nest Products
Welcome to Google Nest Hub, Google’s smart display that brings you help at a glance. With the Google Assistant built in, you can use your voice to get the best of Google—Search, Calendar, Maps, YouTube, Google Photos and more–right on Hub’s display.


Thoughtfully designed for any room


The first thing you’ll notice about Hub is its beautiful design. We made this display to fit right into your home, and we hope you’ll consider it not just functional, but part of your decor. Its 7-inch screen is like a floating display, just the right size to fit on any surface and big enough to enjoy your photos from across the room. With soft rounded corners, Hub fits naturally on any surface. My favourite places are my kitchen counter and nightstand. It is available in Chalk and Charcoal color variants, across partner retailers including Flipkart, Croma, Reliance and TATA Cliq.


We consciously decided to not include a camera on Google Nest Hub, so you feel comfortable placing it in the private spaces of your home, like the bedroom. On the top of the device you’ll find the powerful Google Nest Hub’s Ambient EQ light sensor. It allows the screen to automatically adjust to match the lighting in the room, so photos on Google Nest Hub will blend in with the room, too. That means no glowing screen—it fits seamlessly into your home. When it's time for bed, Hub knows to dim the screen for a good night’s sleep.




Jumpstart your morning routine 


I think I speak for most parents when I say mornings at home are hectic. From the time we wake up until we’re racing out the door, every minute counts. With Routines, Hub can provide you and your family with useful info about the day ahead. Just say “Ok Google, good morning” for a personalised, visual overview of family activities from Google Calendar, your commute from Google Maps, your latest reminders, and the weather forecast. You will also be updated on the latest local news from the likes of Times Internet, NDTV, India Today, Dainik Jagran and more.  And with Voice Match, up to six people can get their own personalised Routine. And I can get easy how-to help from YouTube videos: “Ok Google, how do you make mango lassi?”


Simplify your connected home



With Hub, everyone in the family can see and control your compatible devices from a single dashboard called Home View—no more switching between apps. Just swipe down to reveal your home view: dim your lights, turn up the volume on the TV, and see who is outside with your smart camera. Home View lets you control more than 200 million connected devices from over 3,500 brands globally, many of which may already be in your home today. With a simple tap or voice command, you can control products from Xiaomi, Syska lights, Oakter Plugs, Philips Hue, LG and more. You can also broadcast messages through all connected speakers in your home, just say “Ok Google, broadcast dinner’s ready!” to round up the family. 


Relive the moment with Google Photos



Google Nest Hub is also a photo frame, but not your average one: It's easy to set up, automatically refreshes the photos that are displayed, and features your best shots. With Live Albums, a new feature from Google Photos, I can relive recent memories with family and friends even while Hub is not in use. Google Photos will automatically add new photos of my son and our dog to my album, avoiding duplicates and blurry shots. I can even share our Live Album with my mum, so when she sets up her Google Nest Hub, the photos of her grandson will be added to the live album automatically. Plus, you can say goodbye to endless scrolling on your phone to find the photo you’re looking for. Google Nest Hub makes it easy: “Ok Google, show my pictures from Goa,” and just like that, I'm taken back to my vacation. 


Get hands-free help in the kitchen



My family spends a lot of time in our kitchen, and Google Nest Hub helps us prepare recipes like top chefs. I can use my voice to browse millions of recipes and start cooking, all hands-free. We’ve teamed up with NDTV Food, Veg Recipes of India, Archana’s Kitchen and more to bring their fun, family-friendly recipe videos to Google Nest Hub. Check out the NDTV Food Chole Bhature recipe for a fun how-to recipe, it’s delicious!


Hub helps you turn the music up, then wind down



At my house, Fridays are family night—and sometimes that means a dance-off. Hub’s full-range speaker means a crisp, clear sound every time. With Hub, you can enjoy music from YouTube Music, Gaana, JioSaavn, Wynk, and Spotify (you may need a subscription).


When you’re ready for bed, just say, “Ok Google, good night” to set an alarm, turn off compatible lights and TVs and fall asleep to soothing music.  You can use ready-made or custom Routines to create your own Routine with any of the Google Assistant’s one million actions, starting your routine with a phrase that feels best for you. For busy working parents like me, every day is hectic—so these features are truly game-changing when I have my hands full or I’m strapped for time.


I know you’ll love getting help and enjoying family time with Hub, just like my family. Google Nest Hub’s is priced at ₹9,999, and will be available starting 26th August 2019.


Once you set up Hub, just say “Ok Google, what can you do” to get started.

Posted by Saurabh Arya, India Business Lead, Google Home and Nest Products

Introducing the first ever Class of 2019 for YouTube NextUp for Artists, Mumbai!

This June, we announced that YouTube NextUp is back in India for its 4th edition, with special editions to celebrate the diversity of talent on the platform. 


For the NextUp for Artists edition, we received an overwhelming response from the length and breadth of the country, across varied forms of music and in diverse languages. Be it hip-hop or rap, electronic music or folk, classical or pop -- the quality of music that India’s young artists are creating is truly inspiring. 


We are extremely excited for them to find a global audience on YouTube, find success and make their voice heard. All our NextUp for Artist winners will join us at our first NextUp class for this year; scheduled to take place at our Pop-Up Space in Mumbai, this August. 


Over the course of five days, the winners will attend workshops to enhance their production skills, camera work, lighting, sound, audio and more! That’s not all, they will be mentored by industry veterans, leading music label and marketing executives on songwriting, digital marketing and building and managing their brand. Each winner will also receive a production voucher worth INR 1,40,000.


***Drum Roll***


Meet the YouTube NextUp for Artists 2019 Winners (in no particular order) and take a sneak-peek into their musical journey:


Prabh Deep -- A hip/hop rap artist, who started out as a breakdancer before finding his musical voice;  Prabh Deep recently dropped his album ‘K I N G’ on YouTube.
Arjit Agarwal -- Based in Lucknow, Arjit draws inspiration from A.R Rahman, adding a unique indo-western element to his compositions. Fun fact...he can also play the cajon! 
Cover TV --  Covers, Compositions and Competitions has Varsha owning the music space. You may recognize her from Indian Idol 6, X Factor and The Voice India! 
Tom Murmu -- A band set out to represent Jharkhand’s cultural heritage through music by fusing  regional Santhali sounds with modern contemporary music.
Prithvi Raj --  Singer, Songwriter, Sound Engineer and Karaoke Jockey, Prithvi is ready to add YouTube Success to his list of accomplishments! 
Taalpatar Shepai -- This Kolkata duo is known for their unique music videos that convey social/political messages through song.
Vani Rao -- A brother/sister team who have spoiled us for choice, with an abundance of musical content , including Bollywood, Western, Classical, Medleys and Mashups!
LostStoriesMusic - These DJs have set out to familiarize India with the international sounds of Trance, by fusing it with Indian melodies.
Akanksha Bhandari - A Bollywood playback singer, whose career started on YouTube itself. You might recognize her voice from the albums of Fukrey Returns and Namaste England! 
Bharatt-Saurabh -- An Economics post graduate and a Computer Engineer form this dynamic duo that covers everything from singing, composing, producing and writing their original music. 


And that is not all! For our first Artists edition, Winners will get an opportunity to perform at India’s largest music industry conference, All About Music. As part of this association with AAM, our artists will also be receiving mentorship from industry specialists and an opportunity to pitch their  original songs to movie producers, music directors and music labels, focusing on Independent music.


Congratulations to the YouTube NextUp for Artists Class of 2019! We can’t wait to see the magic you create in Mumbai, and on YouTube!


Up next, Winner announcements for NextUp Women to Watch and NextUp for Gamers. Stay tuned!

Posted by Marc Lefkowitz, Head of YouTube Creator and Artist Development, APAC

Inviting applications for Class 3 of Launchpad Accelerator India




We welcomed 10 change-makers to the second class of Launchpad Accelerator India, in March this year. In keeping with the ‘Solve for India’ theme of the accelerator, these 10 startups focused on building scalable solutions for some of India’s toughest problems in the areas of healthcare, fintech, sustainability, among others, using AI/ML. With the second class close to graduating, we are now inviting applications for Class 3 from startups working in similar areas.


A look back at Class 2: 





With Class 2, we took the mentee startups - spanning verticals across fintech, healthcare, sustainability and more - through intensive mentorship bootcamps delivered by Google & industry experts, spanning across the areas of technology, product strategy, marketing, UX/UI and leadership. 


The program is designed to address the specific needs of the startups in each batch. Startups that needed help with their machine learning algorithms were taken through a machine learning bootcamp while, startups that needed to overhaul their customer onboarding journeys or improve their customer retention went through design sprints.


In addition to technical mentoring, founders were also coached on key aspects of leadership such as empathy, in a Google-created ‘Leaders Lab’, specially conceived to make leaders aware of the blindspots in their management styles.


Hearing from the founders and mentors:


“We have been trying to streamline our ML engines, but finding ML experts can be tough. Through the Launchpad program, we have been connected to ML experts across the globe who have worked on similar problems and have given us interesting ideas which we are currently implementing” 


- SmartCoin, 


“Our assumption was that decreasing the dropout rate of customers might be most important. Although it is important, we realized before dropout, getting more customers to onboard was more important. Hence we understood that we need to work on content marketing and go through a design sprint too. The design sprint helped to reduce the customer onboarding time by 50%” 


- FinancePeer


“With due credit to its name, Launchpad truly boosts, accelerates, course corrects and motivates startups to succeed at scale by bringing the finest of Google and industry specialists from a variety of backgrounds to support these startups' vision.” 


- Vivian Gomes, Director of User Experience at HFR&D, Mentor, Google Launchpad Accelerator


Class 2 of Launchpad Accelerator India


Apply Now for Class 3 of Google Launchpad Accelerator :


While these 10 startups continue their journey to scale their solutions to meaningfully address some
of India’s toughest problems , we are excited to invite applications for the next class. 


If you are a startup that uses technology like AI/ML to solve systemic problems in India, submit your application now under “Launchpad Accelerator India” at this link, by August 18, 2019. The batch will kick off with a 1 week bootcamp in mid-October, in Bangalore.


Before you apply, do check if your startup meets the following criteria to be eligible for the program


1/ Be a technology startup
2/ Be based in India
3/ Have preferably at least raised seed funding
4/ Address a challenge that is specific to India
5/ Use advanced technology like AI/ML to power the solution


Each class will receive mentorship and support from the best of Google in AI/ML, Cloud, UX, Android, Web, Product Strategy and Marketing. Startups will also receive Google Cloud Credits from $20K, going up to $100K each.

We look forward to hearing from you and growing India's startup ecosystem, together.


Posted By Paul Ravindranath, Program Manager, Launchpad Accelerator India


Inviting applications for Class 3 of Launchpad Accelerator India




We welcomed 10 change-makers to the second class of Launchpad Accelerator India, in March this year. In keeping with the ‘Solve for India’ theme of the accelerator, these 10 startups focused on building scalable solutions for some of India’s toughest problems in the areas of healthcare, fintech, sustainability, among others, using AI/ML. With the second class close to graduating, we are now inviting applications for Class 3 from startups working in similar areas.


A look back at Class 2: 





With Class 2, we took the mentee startups - spanning verticals across fintech, healthcare, sustainability and more - through intensive mentorship bootcamps delivered by Google & industry experts, spanning across the areas of technology, product strategy, marketing, UX/UI and leadership. 


The program is designed to address the specific needs of the startups in each batch. Startups that needed help with their machine learning algorithms were taken through a machine learning bootcamp while, startups that needed to overhaul their customer onboarding journeys or improve their customer retention went through design sprints.


In addition to technical mentoring, founders were also coached on key aspects of leadership such as empathy, in a Google-created ‘Leaders Lab’, specially conceived to make leaders aware of the blindspots in their management styles.


Hearing from the founders and mentors:


“We have been trying to streamline our ML engines, but finding ML experts can be tough. Through the Launchpad program, we have been connected to ML experts across the globe who have worked on similar problems and have given us interesting ideas which we are currently implementing” 


- SmartCoin, 


“Our assumption was that decreasing the dropout rate of customers might be most important. Although it is important, we realized before dropout, getting more customers to onboard was more important. Hence we understood that we need to work on content marketing and go through a design sprint too. The design sprint helped to reduce the customer onboarding time by 50%” 


- FinancePeer


“With due credit to its name, Launchpad truly boosts, accelerates, course corrects and motivates startups to succeed at scale by bringing the finest of Google and industry specialists from a variety of backgrounds to support these startups' vision.” 


- Vivian Gomes, Director of User Experience at HFR&D, Mentor, Google Launchpad Accelerator


Class 2 of Launchpad Accelerator India


Apply Now for Class 3 of Google Launchpad Accelerator :


While these 10 startups continue their journey to scale their solutions to meaningfully address some
of India’s toughest problems , we are excited to invite applications for the next class. 


If you are a startup that uses technology like AI/ML to solve systemic problems in India, submit your application now under “Launchpad Accelerator India” at this link, by August 18, 2019. The batch will kick off with a 1 week bootcamp in mid-October, in Bangalore.


Before you apply, do check if your startup meets the following criteria to be eligible for the program


1/ Be a technology startup
2/ Be based in India
3/ Have preferably at least raised seed funding
4/ Address a challenge that is specific to India
5/ Use advanced technology like AI/ML to power the solution


Each class will receive mentorship and support from the best of Google in AI/ML, Cloud, UX, Android, Web, Product Strategy and Marketing. Startups will also receive Google Cloud Credits from $20K, going up to $100K each.

We look forward to hearing from you and growing India's startup ecosystem, together.


Posted By Paul Ravindranath, Program Manager, Launchpad Accelerator India


Identify Content Gaps Online with Question Hub

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/4_Ja86GgwMEXmnLeCp9Dfmd4_mnU43N8Q1HsdmJL3dzIro15l0x3pyP5segRHi1FkYsHBDOyzNFW6ZX5864m8PaOEfNXNMvRZOGD4gN6NSwYGG4PFDJZ6gdU2AeuvBOLasJS6oxZ Shekhar Sharad Senior Product Manager Search and Content Ecosystem
Google Search organizes information to find the most relevant, useful results for each person’s search queries. But what if the content just isn’t there? That’s why we created Question Hub. 


With Question Hub, users can let us know when they haven’t been able to find the content they are searching for. We collect all these unanswered questions, for example “How many revolutions does Chandrayaan 2 make around the Earth”,  and sort them by topic (“Science”). We provide those questions to publishers, so they can use these insights to create richer, better content for their audience. This benefits the publishers who can identify content gaps online, and everyone searching for content on the web.


After several months of testing with journalists and bloggers, we are launching a beta version today so we can continue to grow the product in collaboration with a broader group of publishers. Question Hub is now available in India, Indonesia, and Nigeria, in English, Hindi and Bahasa Indonesia, and we plan to introduce it in other countries and languages in the future. There are many questions lined up waiting for answers, from debunking myths such as “Do mermaid tears really turn into pearls” to everyday useful information like “vegan south indian recipe with no eggplant”. Because Question Hub is just coming out of an experimental phase, we’re still working hard to improve the experience and add additional features. We would love your feedback to  help us grow the product further. 


To access Question Hub, publishers need to link their account to verified properties in Search Console. For publishers without a Search Console account, other options are available. Once they’ve created an account, they can  explore topics relevant to their work by either searching for keywords or browsing categories (e.g. Beauty & Fitness). Once a topic is added, they can view unanswered questions asked by real people. 


Publishers can then use their editorial judgment to review unanswered questions, and expand on them when creating content. For instance, an unanswered question (“mehndi designs for my sister’s wedding in two weeks 2019”) may illustrate a larger need for content on a certain topic (trendy mehndi designs). Publishers can leverage these questions to create more impactful content for their audience. Once they create an article or video, publishers are then able to submit it in Question Hub, where they review content performance metrics.




Are you a publisher? Try Question Hub out, or learn more about how to get started in our FAQ. Click Send Feedback within Question Hub with any comments or issues; we’d love to hear from you.

Posted by Shekhar Sharad, Senior Product Manager, Search and Content Ecosystem

100 million people free up phone space with the Files app

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hPgoww2FulWnMi8fki9ynZR2tQPv2i98/view Tomas Vorel Growth Manager Next Billion Users




Every month, 100 million people around the world use the Files app to free up space and manage the
content on their phones. Files was built for people with low phone storage, many of whom live in
places like India, Nigeria and Brazil and often run out of space on a daily basis. However, in the past
two years, we’ve seen people everywhere use Files. The app reduces the stress of managing stuff on
your phone and helps you get things done faster—whether that means finding your favorite photo,
sharing files without using data, or removing old files to make your phone feel like new.


Globally, Files frees up 8 GB of space every second—that’s equivalent to 2,200 photos! 






Forwarded messages can cause duplicate files and memes to quickly eat up phone storage. Around
the world, Files helps people delete more than 300 duplicates and 150 memes every second—the
app is able to quickly find and suggest files for removal using Google’s mobile vision technology. 


Here are two new features that make Files even more helpful:

- Preserve your battery and reduce eye strain with a new all-black dark theme option. 


Switch to dark theme to preserve battery life and reduce eye strain



- Listen to music or watch videos offline with new controls like Skip, Rewind or Fast-forward.

New audio player features give you more control.



These features will be available to everyone over the next few days. Get the app at g.co/getfiles to
free up space, and make your phone feel like new.


Posted by Tomas Vorel, Growth Manager, Next Billion Users







Doodle for Google is back!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/HozTB1ZB--zpH1NZisXNG_A1NweLikSZyQxsE-26mebUIO-sylVyJ2qohQQQqNjtQrJPh7OxxFp58XTQJNafehu6ROx2xgZqEck5ofdVCsYA-Zc1MksoZ_A1UFpSqbsCPeJ3GPxd Sapna Chadha Director, Southeast Asia & India Marketing

This time encouraging young artists to draw “When I grow up, I hope ….”


I have the privilege of being a mother of seven year old twins, and it’s always amazing to see the imaginative things they come up with. I’ve come to realize that they each have such distinct dreams and hopes for themselves and for the world; my daughter hopes that everyone in the world should have a roof over their head and enough food to eat,  while my son hopes that he can travel the world and thinks about how the world markets and population will change over the next 50 years (yes, he is seven!) What a lovely thing it is, to be able to get a glimpse of the future from a child’s perspective, which brings me to hope that they never stop dreaming about what the world can be.  


On that note, I am excited to announce the 2019 edition of  Doodle for Google contest where students across India will get a chance to showcase their creativity in the form of a doodle on www.google.co.in for a day on Children’s Day i.e. 14th November 2019. 


This year’s theme is “When I grow up, I hope….” tapping into the aspirations and imagination of young India. Anything kids dream about is fair-play - from edible clouds, to a pollution-free world, to a city haven full of endangered animals, and a life on the moon. Crayons, water colours, clay or graphic design; young artists can utilise any materials to bring their creation to life but like all Google Doodles, each doodle must incorporate the letters G-o-o-g-l-e.




Last year, we received thousands of entries from all across India -- including big metros and smaller cities, covering the length and breadth of the country. If you are inspired to participate this year, download the form, let your imagination flow, draw your doodle and press the ‘submit’ button! Please visit ‘How it works’ page on the website for detailed instructions about participation. 


Every year, the toughest part of the contest is to pick a winner and therefore we have a stellar jury of guest judges including renowned illustrator Neha Sharma, fondly known as Neha Doodles, Prajakta Koli AKA MostlySane who is one of India’s most popular YouTube Creators, and Rajiv Chikala the creator and CEO of Green Gold Animation who is also the conspirator of the famous animated character Chhota Bheem. 


Internal judging and jury votes will be used to identify the top 20 doodles, which will be put up for public voting from October 21st to November 6th 2019, where the entire public will be able to vote for their favourite doodle. Winning doodle will be awarded a college scholarship worth five lakh rupees, a technology package worth two lakh for their school or non-profit organization, along with many other exciting prizes.


Submissions for this year close on 30th September 2019 at 10 PM IST. That’s only eight short weeks so hurry! Students between class 1 to 10 are welcome to submit their entries at doodles.google.co.in/d4g. For parents, teachers and all of you who know a young doodler, do encourage them to participate! We can’t wait to see all the wonderful entries and learn more about the aspirations of India’s future.

By Sapna Chadha, Director of Marketing, Southeast Asia & India

What’s under the hood: Security on Google Pay

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/kqimQE52YHUk85s4_gch87PrS7s5lO0NDSP3WkTLWJh3eJCMSeuEskErQ-sj2UmtRsIoO4gehtH99tYnR1V4f9duF3FRuNEQQ0GLAABwWbLTUOFvi17V0grH__j2cCX5bzJUi-7j Ambarish Kenghe Director, Product Management Google Pay
In the last two years, instant bank-to-bank transfers via UPI have become the preferred form of payment for millions of Indians, many adopting digital payments for the first time. At Google Pay, we’ve been very excited to be part of this story, and bringing the convenience of UPI to millions of users, in a simple and secure user experience. 


We launched Google Pay with the best of Google’s security infrastructure, leveraging our experience of 20 years of bringing some of the world’s most helpful technology products to billions of users worldwide. Some of these are: 

  • Enhanced fraud protections with SafetyNet: Beyond the ‘one device - one account’ safeguards offered by UPI, Google Pay is secured with Google Pay advanced fraud models and backed by Google’s authentication platform, ensuring world class protections against fraud attacks and faster identification and suspension of fraudsters.
  • Secure access: The PIN entry screens in Google Pay have been secured against remote desktop attacks since the early days of app’s launch, keeping our users safe, even when widespread scams have affected other digital payments users.
  • Blocking fraudsters from getting on to Google Pay: Our exhaustive risk relations check at the onboarding stage prevents known bad actors from recreating their accounts on the app.
  • Scam protections: Since its launch, Google Pay uses machine learning-based scam prevention models, and also displays explicit ‘scam’ or ‘stranger’ warnings if a user receives a request from someone suspicious or not in their contacts.
             

    • Explicit language and prominent warnings during collect requests: Collect requests as a flow are unique to UPI and thus might be new to several users. For this reason, Google Pay displays very clear and prominent warnings to the user about what it entails at each step.

      Additionally, to help our users fully understand each step on the app, we have now launched notifications and SMS alerts to clarify the direction of flow of money: Google Pay will now send app notifications as well as SMS to inform users each time they receive a collect request to highlight that approving the request will deduct money from the users’ bank accounts. 

      We are mindful that at Google Pay, users are entrusting us with their most sensitive asset - their money. We are conscious of the responsibility that comes with this trust. The above security features, and a lot more ongoing work in this direction, are a small example of how we keep our users safe. 

      As we make this journey together, there are steps that our users can also take to keep their money secure. Just as we learnt to handle cash carefully, the world of digital payments requires care and mindfulness as well, to ensure we keep our money safe. Some of these are:
      • Just as you keep your ATM card PIN private, your UPI PIN needs to be safeguarded in the same way. This code is only for your use, to securely access your UPI-linked bank account, via Google Pay. The same applies to your phone PIN.
      • Google Pay customer care representatives will never ask for your PIN or ask you to authorise a money transfer, while troubleshooting. If anyone contacts you with such a request, always decline.
      • UPI places incredible power in the hands of the user and money can only leave your account if you authorise it. Only approve transfer requests from people you trust, or for transactions that you have initiated. If you don’t remember initiating a transaction, decline.
      • Please pay attention to ‘scam’ and ‘stranger’ warnings that appear on Google Pay, in case an unknown contact requests for a money transfer. Read these signals carefully and only transact with people you trust. 
      • Be alert to the direction of the money flow. Receiving money never requires your UPI PIN, only sending money does. If you need to enter your UPI PIN, you are authorising a payment.
      • If you ever need any kind of support or help, our 24/7 support is available to help, who you can contact safely from within the app. Do not call unverified numbers present on the web. 
        These simple tips, along with Google Pay’s security infrastructure, can ensure that your experience on digital payments stays seamless, and you can leverage its many conveniences to the fullest. This journey is an ongoing one as we continue to learn and evolve the product, and look forward to your feedback to make Google Pay even more helpful in your daily life. 

        Posted by Ambarish Kenghe, Director, Product Management, Google Pay

        26 million women in rural India are dreaming big, breaking barriers, helping communities and improving livelihoods

        Even as India has taken the lead to become the fastest growing Internet user market in the world, with a 31% growth in rural India, 75% of the rural population still don't have access to the Internet and 40% claim to be unaware of the benefits of the internet*. It is therefore important to equip rural India with a greater understanding of the Internet, and empower them with the right skills to find information on the web that can help improve their lives. 


        A recent meeting with two of our Saathis Rama Devi and Asiya Gawandi, really brought home the profound impact of our Internet Saathi program on women in rural India. 


        Rama Devi who comes from a very humble background is transforming farming practices in Vempalle, a small village in Andhra Pradesh where for generations farmers have been using chemical fertilizers. She used voice search to learn more about “how to make organic manure”, “benefits and cost effective ways of organic farming over chemical fertilizers” on the internet. She learnt that organic sources like animal waste, vegetable compost, agricultural residues, human excreta, etc. can help reduce expenditure, and grow yield. She has now trained 120 farmers and over 1200 women beneficiaries on how to make organic manure. 


        On the other hand, Asiya Gawandi, from a small village Maujgarhjia in Maharashtra has trained 1500 women in her village who are using the internet in their everyday life now. Many of these women have gone ahead and started their small businesses. Collectively, these women have started a local market -- "Apna Bazaar" where they these enterprising women come forward to sell food items, handicraft, beauty products like sugandhi ubtan, and the list goes on. They continue to enhance their skills and learn new techniques using the Internet. 


        Today we have over 70,000 incredible women across 260K villages in 18 states, who are using the power of the Internet to drive positive change in their communities and have already benefited over 26 million women. To further our efforts, we are happy to announce the expansion of the program to two new states -- Punjab and Odisha. In Punjab, the program will cover around ~5,000 villages, starting from Paras Rampur, Kotli Than Singh, Burj, Vehra, from Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts. In Odisha the program has kicked off from Sindhia in Baleshwar, Parakana in Puri, Bhuinpur in Kendrapara, and we will cover ~16,000+ villages. 


        It is encouraging to see that the female to male internet literacy ratio is now at 4:10 [Source: Kantar ICUBE Study 2018] but there is still a lot more that needs to be done to make the internet gender equitable. We believe that a gender-equitable Internet is good for everyone, and when a diverse group uses the Internet, the online world becomes relevant and useful to more people. 




        Internet Saathi program has shown us that with the right opportunities, there is no limit to what women can achieve. It is remarkable to see the passion of women like Rama Devi, and several others of them in rural India, learning about the Internet, not just for their own needs but for their families, kids and their communities.

        In a recent study with Kantar, we interviewed over 2500 people across rural India to understand the impact that providing access has on their livelihood.

        What we learnt -- 
        Over time, women start to become more confident, becoming a key source of information for her village, and also help empower the next generation:

        / About 70% of Saathis believe they are seen as a source of information in their village -- people are coming to them consistently for answers to help children with schoolwork, to learn  new cooking recipes, search for jobs, or to run a business. 
        / 8 in 10 Saathis and their beneficiaries believe people in their village respect them more. 
        / 9 in 10 women beneficiaries believe in a woman’s right to express herself, and earn a living for her family.
        / That’s not all, 7 in 10 women who attended the trainings with the Saathis have seen an improvement in their children’s education.


        Increased confidence leads to a level of independence that creates financial opportunities for women to pursue their dreams: 

        / 3 in 10 Saathis and 2 in 10 beneficiaries have set up some form of business. This, in turn, has provided economic growth, with the business often earning between Rs. 3000 and Rs. 5000 every month.
        / 5 in 10 Saathis have seen positive impact on employability.


        Many of our Saathis or those who have been trained by them, have either started a business -- be it stitching or honeybee, and parlour, or helping their family improve their financial standing or driving positive change for their community. They have truly become role models for millions of other women. 


        It’s encouraging to see real stories of impact that are reshaping the digital narrative for rural India. We are grateful to Tata Trusts, our onground NGO partners, local activists and several Google volunteers who have contributed to the success of this program, and without whom the journey would have been incomplete. 


        By Sapna Chadha, Director of Marketing, Southeast Asia & India, Google 

        *Source: Kantar ICUBE Report 2018