Jio Investment first, Biggest of India Investment Plans: Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Google’s investment of $4.5 billion (Rs 33,737 crore) in Jio Platforms Ltd, for a stake of 7.73 percent is all set to accelerate the digital economy of India over the next five to seven years through a mix of investment types, such as equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments, CEO Sundar Pichai said.

Pichai, also announced that the partnership shared with Reliance Jio still needs more work to be done to ensure that an effective digital access is offered to billions of Indians who are still struggling with smartphone crisis.

Google and Jio Platforms have collaborated with a commercial agreement that jointly develops an entry-level affordable smartphone with adept optimizations made to ensure that the Android operating system and the Play Store are all in operational state.

Earlier this week Pichai announced that the ‘Google For India digitization fund’ is committed to accelerate India’s digital economic growth with an investment of Rs 75,000 crore

“Our investment of $4.5 million in Jio is the first and biggest investment we will make towards this effort. I'm excited that our collaboration will focus on increasing access for hundreds of million of users who don't currently own a smartphone while improving the mobile experience for all,” Pichai said at the 43rd Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited.

“Smartphones and affordable data has enabled millions of Indians to come online. Reliance and Jio in particular deserves a good deal of credit for this progress But there is more work to do to connect every Indian to the opportunity that technologies create,” he said,

Pichai also appreciated Jio’s investments in the realm of telecommunications infrastructure, low-cost phones and affordable internet to bring about a revolution and changing the way all the hundreds of millions of subscribers are now able to find news and information. The bridge that Jio has created when it comes to communicating with one another, use of internet services and adeptly running businesses, is the one that is the best and the most appreciable step.