Google Asia Pacific Blog: India

#IfIHadSpace? India asked for it, and got it — YouTube Space Mumbai now open

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Musicians Aakash Gandhi and Ash King stumble upon
a magical doorway to YouTube Space Mumbai

Lights, camera—action!

Back in August we announced that we were partnering with renowned film school Whistling Woods International (WWI) to open YouTube Space Mumbai. We asked Indians: what would you do #IfIHadSpace? People responded overwhelmingly on social media with sci fi shorts, action films, and of course, many, many music videos. Now, we are finally ready to unveil the Space, opening the doors to India’s YouTube creators and nurturing the next wave of entertainment talent for Bollywood and beyond.

Check out this musical number by YouTube creator, pianist and composer 88 Keys to Euphoria’s Aakash Gandhi, together with his collaborators Ash King and Shashaa Tirupati which was released today on YouTube to coincide with the Space's opening. It was shot entirely on campus and is the first official production of the Space.

YouTube’s new home for creators in Mumbai is a 1400 square foot space within WWI’s sprawling production complex, which includes a 400 square foot studio, a lounge and workshop space for creators to relax and socialize in, and an edit bay with two machines that are capable of 4K editing. There will also be a small office for our staff on campus, to interact not only with YouTube creators, but with the students at Whistling Woods. In addition, YouTube creators will have access to Whistling Woods’ sound stages and post-production facilities, including two fully-equipped professional studios over 3000 square feet each.

The creators’ lounge at YouTube Space Mumbai

The doors are about to open...

With Subhash Ghai (center), founder and Chairman of Whistling Woods International, at today's opening of the Space

At the YouTube Space, creators can learn from industry experts and attend workshops to hone their YouTube know-how and production skills. They'll be able to book use of the YouTube Space after they have taken an initial orientation class called “Unlock the Space.” Stay informed about the latest goings on at YouTube Space Mumbai at www.youtube.com/space, by following us on Twitter @youtubespacemum, or sign up for our newsletter here.

Posted by David Macdonald, Head of YouTube Spaces, Asia Pacific, who recently watched TVF’s Rajasthani Cowboys.

Performing Arts take center stage on the Cultural Institute

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Have you ever wondered what it’s like backstage at the opera? Or how it might feel to dance under the glare of a concert hall’s spotlight? With a new virtual exhibition of performing arts on the Google Cultural Institute, you can experience all of this with the click of a mouse. And we’re also giving you front row seats to some of the world’s leading performances. So sit back and get comfortable as we dim the lights and take you through a world tour of performing arts…

You can browse performances and everything that goes on on- and off-stage at more than 60 institutions—including the world famous Carnegie Hall, to the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Moving east, I’ve selected some highlights from our partners in Asia-Pacific—the Queensland Performing Arts Center in Australia, the Dilli Gharana and Natural Streets For Performing Arts Foundation in India, Aomori Nebuta Matsuri in Japan, and the National Theatre of Korea, National Gugak Center and Kukkiwon in Korea.

Start with a tour of the Queensland Performing Arts Center and its lovely venues, indoor and out.

Left: QPAC’s Melbourne Street Green is a great place to enjoy free music outdoors on a Friday night; Right: The view of the stage from QPAC’s Concert Hall balcony.

Get lost in a sea of colored lights amidst the floats Aomori Nebuta Matsuri. The lantern floats at this annual Japanese summer festival in Aomori prefecture stand up to 10 meters tall and are made of fragile traditional paper wrapped around a bamboo frame. They depict Japanese gods, mythological and and historical figures.

In Korea, see how the demonstration team of Kukkiwon, the sport’s global headquarters, reinterprets the ancient martial art of taekwondo, presenting it alongside traditional music to create a special performance.

You can also learn about the Dilli Gharana, an ancient form of music from Hindustan in India.

Ustad Chand Khan Sahab giving a lesson to Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan. The portrait at the back is of Shams-e-Maousiqi Ustad Mamman Khan Sahab.

The Google Cultural Institute was founded in 2011 to bring the world’s treasures to anyone with an Internet connection. Starting in partnership with a handful of renowned museums, we’ve since joined forces with 900+ institutions to include historic archives, street art, and 200 wonders of the world. Now you can also visit dozens of the world’s stages together in one place—across mobile, tablet and desktop at g.co/performingarts and on the Google Cultural Institute website.

Posted by Kate Lauterbach, Program Manager, Google Cultural Institute

Finding Asian treasures in The Museum of the World

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

The British Museum opened its doors in 1759, offering free access to its 70,000 objects to all “students and curious persons.” The Google Cultural Institute has now made 4,500 of the museum’s eight million objects available for students, curious persons or anyone else with an Internet connection to see. For many who live in Asia-Pacific, this is a chance to pore over treasures from their region in far greater detail than even those in the museum can. Here are some of my favorite artifacts from Asia and Oceania:

The Admonitions Scroll by Gu Kaizhi (China, 6th century)

This 6th century Chinese scroll has been captured in super high-resolution—what we call gigapixel imagery—to give you a closer and more intimate view than you could ever get with the naked eye. Due to its fragile nature, it is displayed at the museum for only a few months of of the year; on the Cultural Institute, it can be accessed all year round. It tells the story of an instructress of the imperial court, who guides the ladies of the imperial family about correct behavior.

Gigapixel imagery enables users to experience the Admonitions Scroll in a way they would never be able to offline. The complete work can be seen on the left, and zoomed in detail on the right.

Miniature of Mughal Prince (India, 1610)

This miniature painting shows an encounter between a member of the Mughal elite and a holy figure. Measuring just 10.5cm wide and 22cm high, the fine details of this artwork are best seen close up—or by zooming in to the image on the Cultural Institute. You’ll be able to appreciate the incredible detail both in the foreground and background, and rich and subtle colors with a close and accurate depiction of nature.

Zoom in on the Cultural Institute to admire the fine details of this miniature painting.

Kakiemon elephants (Japan, 1650-1699)

These colorful porcelain elephants, which stand about one foot high, were made on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. How did the potters know what they were making, when real elephants would not have been seen in Japan at this time? It’s likely that these were ordered specially by merchants of the Dutch East India Company for export, commissioned by design as ornaments for European mantelpieces.

Zoom in to admire the overglaze coloured enamels decorating these elephants

Moon jar (Korea, 1600-1800)

White, minimalist forms are not a modern invention. These “moon” jars were prized during the Joseon dynasty in Korea, symbolizing the Neo-Confucian ideals of purity and integrity. Play the audio guide to find out the fascinating history behind how this particular moon jar found its way into the British Museum’s collection.

Bark etching of a kangaroo hunt (Australia, 1800-1899)

The British Museum is home to one of the oldest surviving Aboriginal bark etchings. The etching is made of bark from a eucalyptus tree which was blackened by smoke from a fire. Zooming into the artifact, you’ll see that the sooty surface was incised to depict figures armed with boomerangs, spears and clubs hunting a kangaroo.

Carved Wooden Figure Known as A’a (Rurutu, 1700-1850)

This wooden statue from the island of Rurutu in Polynesia was presented to English missionaries in the early 19th century as the local population converted to Christianity. It has inspired several artists of the twentieth century, including the poet William Empson whose Homage to the British Museum drew a contrast between the religious power of the figure and its secular surroundings.

There is a supreme God in the ethnological section;

A hollow toad shape, faced with a blank shield.

[...] At the navel, at the points formally stressed, at the organs of sense,

Lice glue themselves, dolls, local deities,

His smooth wood creeps with all the creeds of the world. [...]

Being everything, let us admit that is to be something,

Or give ourselves the benefit of the doubt;

Let us offer our pinch of dust all to this God,

And grant his reign over the entire building.

The British Museum is not only worth a visit for the objects in its collection—it has some impressive architecture too. You can experience the Great Court and a view of the reading room, which was used for research and writing by Sun Yat-Sen, Bram Stoker and Karl Marx.

Go on a private tour of the museum whenever you want! This is the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court. The famous architect Lord Norman Foster transformed the Museum’s inner courtyard into the largest covered public square in Europe.

Through a special microsite called The Museum of the World, visitors to this virtual gallery can explore and make connections between developments across the world’s cultures.

Clicking on an artifact from India in the 16th century shows connections between related developments across the world’s cultures around the same period in history

The Museum of the World gives visitors a new way to experience the British Museum’s collections, providing a wealth of knowledge about the exhibits with just a few clicks of the mouse. Each artifact on virtual display is accompanied not just by a caption, but also a map identifying where the object hails from, an audio guide, and links to related cultural objects online.

Posted by Piotr Adamczyk, Program Manager, Google Cultural Institute

Bringing the Internet to more Indians – starting with 10 million rail passengers a day

Monday, September 28, 2015

इस पोस्ट को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए नीचे स्क्रॉल करें

When I was a student, I relished the day-long railway journey I would make from Chennai Central station (then known as Madras Central) to IIT Kharagpur. I vividly remember the frenetic energy at the various stations along the way and marveled at the incredible scale and scope of Indian Railways.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Googleplex today

I’m very proud to announce that it’s the train stations of India that are going to help get millions of people online. In the past year, 100 million people in India started using the Internet for the first time. This means there are now more Internet users in India than in every country in the world aside from China. But what's really astounding is the fact that there are still nearly one billion people in India who aren’t online.

We’d like to help get these next billion Indians online—so they can access the entire web, and all of its information and opportunity. And not just with any old connection—with fast broadband so they can experience the best of the web. That’s why, today, on the occasion of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to our U.S. headquarters, and in line with his Digital India initiative, we announced a new project to provide high-speed public Wi-Fi in 400 train stations across India.

Working with Indian Railways, which operates one of the world's largest railway networks, and RailTel, which provides Internet services as RailWire via its extensive fiber network along many of these railway lines, our Access & Energy team plans to bring the first stations online in the coming months. The network will expand quickly to cover 100 of the busiest stations in India before the end of 2016, with the remaining stations following in quick succession.

Even with just the first 100 stations online, this project will make Wi-Fi available for the more than 10 million people who pass through every day. This will rank it as the largest public Wi-Fi project in India, and among the largest in the world, by number of potential users. It will also be fast—many times faster than what most people in India have access to today, allowing travelers to stream a high definition video while they’re waiting, research their destination, or download some videos, a book or a new game for the journey ahead. Best of all, the service will be free to start, with the long-term goal of making it self-sustainable to allow for expansion to more stations and other places, with RailTel and more partners, in the future.

This map shows the first 100 stations that will have high-speed Wi-Fi by the end of 2016

We think this is an important part of making the Internet both accessible and useful for the more than 300 million Indians already online, and the nearly one billion more who are not.

But it’s not the only piece. To help more Indians get access to affordable, high-quality smartphones, which is the primary way most people there access the Internet, we launched Android One last year. To help address the challenges of limited bandwidth, we recently launched a feature that makes mobile webpages load faster and with less data, and we’ve made YouTube available offline with offline Maps coming soon.

To help make web content more useful for Indians, many of whom don’t speak English, we launched the Indian Language Internet Alliance last year to foster more local language content, and have built greater local language support into our products—including Hindi Voice Search, an improved Hindi keyboard and support for seven Indian languages with the latest versions of Android. And finally, to help all Indians reap the benefits of connectivity, we’ve been ramping up efforts to help women, who make up just a third of Internet users in India today, get the most from the web.

Just like I did years ago, thousands of young Indians walk through Chennai Central every day, eager to learn, to explore and to seek opportunity. It’s my hope that this Wi-Fi project will make all these things a little easier.

Posted by Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google

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ज्यादा से ज्यादा भारतियों को इंटरनेट से जोड़ने की एक पहल - 1 करोड़ रेल यात्रियों प्रतिदिन से शुरुआत

जब मैं एक छात्र था, मैं चेन्नई सेंट्रल स्टेशन (तब मद्रास सेंट्रल के रूप में जाना जाता था) से आईआईटी खड़गपुर की दिन की रेल यात्रा पसंद करता था । मुझे विभिन्न स्टेशनों पर उन्मत्त ऊर्जा की याद आज भी ताजा है और मैं भारतीय रेल के अविश्वसनीय स्तर और विस्तार पर अचम्भा करता था ।

आज गूगलप्लेक्स में प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी

मुझे यह घोषणा करते हुए बहुत गर्व हो रहा है कि ये भारत के रेलवे स्टेशन हैं जो करोड़ों लोगों को ऑनलाइन लाने में मदद करेंगे । पिछले साल, भारत में 10 करोड़ लोगों ने पहली बार इंटरनेट उपयोग शुरू किया है । इसका मतलब यह है कि भारत में अब चीन को छोड़ कर हर देश से अधिक इंटरनेट उपयोगकर्ता हैं । पर चौंकाने वाली बात ये है की भारत में अभी भी 100 करोड़ से ज़्यादा लोग ऑनलाइन नहीं हैं ।

हम इन 100 करोड़ भारतवासियों को ऑनलाइन लाने में मदद करना चाहते हैं - ताकि उन्हें पूरे वेब तक पहुँच मिल सके, और वहां मौजूद जानकारी और अवसर भी । और किसी पुराने कनेक्शन से नहीं - तेज़ ब्रॉडबैंड से ताकि वे वेब का सबसे अच्छा अनुभव कर सकें । इसलिए आज, भारत के प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी के हमारे U.S. मुख्यालय में उपस्थित होने के अवसर पर, और उनकी डिजिटल इंडिया पहल के अनुरूप, हमने भारत भर में 400 रेलवे स्टेशनों में सार्वजनिक उच्च गति वाई-फाई उपलब्ध कराने के लिए एक नई परियोजना की घोषणा की है ।

हमारी पहुंच और ऊर्जा टीम की, भारतीय रेलवेज, जो कि दुनिया के सबसे बड़े रेलवे नेटवर्कों में से एक चला रही है, और रेलटेल, जो व्यापक फाइबर नेटवर्क के माध्यम से रेलवायर जैसी इंटरनेट सेवाएं प्रदान करता है, के साथ काम करते हुए आने वाले महीनों में पहले स्टेशनों को ऑनलाइन लाने की योजना है। यह नेटवर्क 2016 के अंत से पहले भारत में सबसे व्यस्त स्टेशनों में से 100 को कवर करने के लिए तेजी से विस्तार करेगा, और शेष स्टेशन उसके बाद जल्द ही कवर होंगे ।

जब सिर्फ पहले 100 स्टेशन ऑनलाइन होंगे, तब भी इस परियोजना के माध्यम से हर दिन 1 करोड़ से अधिक लोगों के लिए वाई-फाई उपलब्ध होगा। यह भारत में सबसे बड़ी सार्वजनिक वाई-फाई परियोजना होगी, और संभावित उपयोगकर्ताओं की संख्या के हिसाब से दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी परियोजनाओं में गिनी जाएगी । यह वाई-फाई तेज़ भी होगा - भारत में अधिकतम लोग आज जो उपयोग करते हैं उसकी तुलना में कई गुना तेज़ । इस से यात्री जितनी देर इंतज़ार कर रहे हैं उतनी देर में एक उच्च परिभाषा वीडियो स्ट्रीम कर पाएंगे, अपने गंतव्य के बारे में कुछ अनुसंधान कर पाएंगे या कुछ वीडियो, एक पुस्तक या एक नया खेल डाउनलोड कर पाएंगे । सबसे अच्छी बात, यह सेवा शुरू में मुफ्त होगी, और भविष्य में इसे आत्मनिर्भर बनाने का दीर्घकालीन लक्ष्य है ताकि रेलटेल और अधिक भागीदारों के साथ अधिक स्टेशनों और अन्य स्थानों में इसका विस्तार किया जा सके ।

इस नक्शे में वो पहले 100 स्टेशन दर्शाये गए हैं जहाँ 2016 के अंत तक उच्च गति वाई-फाई होगा

हमें लगता है कि यह 30 करोड़ से अधिक भारतीय जो पहले से ही ऑनलाइन हैं और लगभग एक अरब से अधिक है जो नहीं हैं, उनके लिए इंटरनेट को सुलभ और उपयोगी बनाने का एक महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा है ।

पर यह सिर्फ एक हिस्सा है । अधिक भारतीयों को सस्ती, उच्च गुणवत्ता वाले स्मार्टफोन्स प्राप्त करने के लिए, जो अधिकतम लोगों के लिए इंटरनेट का उपयोग प्राथमिक तरीका है, हमने पिछले साल एंड्राइड वन फ़ोन लांच किया था । सीमित बैंडविड्थ की चुनौतियों से निपटने में मदद करने के लिए, हम हाल ही में मोबाइल वेब पृष्ठों को तेजी से और कम डेटा के साथ लोड करने की सुविधा लाये हैं, यूट्यूब ऑफ़लाइन उपलब्ध बनाया है और ऑफलाइन मैप्स जल्द ही आने वाला है ।

भारतीयों, जिनमे से कई अंग्रेजी नहीं बोलते, के लिए वेब सामग्री और अधिक उपयोगी बनाने में मदद करने के लिए और अधिक स्थानीय भाषा की सामग्री को बढ़ावा देने के लिए हमने पिछले साल भारतीय भाषा इंटरनेट एलायंस की शुरूआत की है, और हमारे उत्पादों में अधिक से अधिक स्थानीय भाषा समर्थन का निर्माण किया है - हिंदी वॉयस खोज, उन्नत हिंदी कीबोर्ड और एंड्राइड के नवीनतम संस्करण में सात भारतीय भाषाओं के लिए समर्थन में सुधार । और अंत में, सभी भारतीयों को कनेक्टिविटी का लाभ लेने में मदद करने के लिए, हमने महिलाओं, जो कि आज भारत में इंटरनेट उपयोगकर्ताओं का सिर्फ एक तिहाई भाग हैं, की मदद करने में अपने प्रयास और तेज़ किये हैं ताकि वे वेब से अधिकतम लाभ उठा सकें ।

हज़ारों युवा भारतीय हर दिन चेन्नई सेंट्रल से निकलते हैं, जैसे मैं कई साल पहले निकलता था, सीखने और जानने के लिए उत्सुक, और अवसर की तलाश में । मेरी आशा है कि यह वाई-फाई परियोजना इन सब बातों को थोड़ा आसान कर देगी ।

सुन्दर पिचई, सीईओ, गूगल के द्वारा प्रकाशित

Welcoming Indian PM Modi to Silicon Valley, and Google

Thursday, September 24, 2015

We're looking forward to hosting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at our headquarters in California this weekend.

As Sundar says in a welcome video we've just put up on YouTube, "there is no more important role for tech companies today than helping to connect the next billion Internet users," and "we, at Google, as well as many others around the world, are passionate about playing our part."

Here's the full video:

Watch this space for more on the visit, and our efforts in India.

All aboard for a tour through the latest treasures from India on Google Cultural Institute

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Yoga is the Sanskrit word for “union”. It’s also a handy metaphor for the 2,000 digital images and 70 online exhibits from cultural organizations across India that we’re bringing to the Google Cultural Institute today. From ancient artifacts to centuries-old arts and crafts and more contemporary yoga exhibits, join me on a short tour of this eclectic new imagery!

Just like in yoga, let’s begin in a comfortable sitting pose in the legendary Palace on Wheels. Rivaling Europe’s Orient Express, its splendid royal carriage, called the Jodphur Saloon, carried Indian royalty across Rajasthan. Thanks to 360 degree Street View indoor imagery, you can step inside and move around to explore the luxuriously decorated cabins.

Jodphur Saloon on the "Palace on Wheels" train, 1930 (Heritage Transport Museum, Gurgaon).

Built in 1930 and in operation for over 60 years, the Jodhpur Saloon brings together many examples of India’s venerable tradition of craftsmanship — take a closer look at the embellished ceiling, the beautiful wooden flooring, and finely carved wooden furnishings.

Many of India’s traditional craft techniques are slowly disappearing, which makes wider access to these cultural legacies all the more important in contemporary India. Our exhibit from the National Museum in New Delhi spotlights over 170 applied arts and crafts treasures. Just one example is this century old head ornament, which was treated as more than just a functional tool, and was used as a canvas for intricate design work.

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South Indian head ornaments (suryan and chandran) (1900-1930), gold, diamonds, rubies, pearls (National Museum, Delhi)

There’s plenty to discover from modern day India, too. We’re pleased to feature the complete Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014 installation and works from the cutting-edge Devi Art Foundation.

Screen Shot 2015-08-26 at 12.44.28 AM.png

Museum View allows you to explore different aspects of works in the Devi Art Foundation, including “7 Yokings of Felicity” by Astha Butail, which uses a traditional Varanasi silk brocade woven with gold thread.

Our last stop takes us full circle. The ancient tradition of yoga is widely acknowledged as “India’s gift to the world”. Learn more about the life and times of one of India’s leading gurus, B.K. Iyengar, in the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute exhibit.

Iyengar: a Yoga's Life (collection: Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute)

Beyond welcoming 10 new partners to the Cultural Institute, we are pleased to be working with Dastkari Haat Samiti, Devi Art Foundation, Heritage Transport Museum and Kalakriti Archives on launching mobile apps that will make their exhibits even more accessible. These apps are just one example of the infinite opportunities that technology can create to preserve and expand the reach of art and culture.

Historic maps are more accessible to mobile users thanks to the Kalakriti Archives app built with Cultural Institute technology

We hope you’ll enjoy this visual feast!

Posted by Simon Rein, Program Manager, Google Cultural Institute

Meet Asia’s young science stars

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Did you know that corn cobs can be used to purify water? Or that you can tell if a bottle of gasoline has been tampered with by listening to the sound it makes when you tap it? These are just some of the unconventional and potentially life-changing discoveries that teens from Asia will be taking to the finals of this year’s Google Science Fair.

Of the 20 global finalists, six students from across Asia will head to our headquarters in California next month to pitch their projects to a panel of notable international scientists and scholars. Meet some of these young scientists and get to know their impressive projects, one of which will be awarded with a US$50,000 scholarship on September 21:

Purifying water with corn cobs
Lalita Srisai’s project came about after drilling a hole through a corn cob, pouring some dirty water into it, and discovering that the cob could absorb the pollutants and purify the water. After some more testing, 13-year-old Lalita learned that corn cobs can also absorb chemicals and detergents. She now wants to use corn cobs from agricultural waste to filter water for villages near her home in Odisha, India.

This isn’t the first time Lalita has been recognized for innovation with corn cobs. She won the Fancy Dress prize in nursery school for this excellent costume, and corn has been one of her favorite vegetables since.

Knocking over the underground gasoline market
After learning about the underground gasoline market at school, 14-year-old Monique Hsu and 13-year-old Gina Wang from Taiwan wanted to find a simple way to identify whether fuel had been tampered with. Once they discovered that different kinds of liquids produce distinct sound patterns, they created their “knock on fuel” prototype to help identify knock-off gasoline.

Monique Hsu and Gina Wang from Taiwan working on their "knock on fuel" prototype

Navigating 3D spaces more easily with magnets
Fellow Taiwanese student, 16-year-old Wei-Tung Chen, discovered a new way to calculate the position of an object in a 3D space quickly and with great accuracy, and by using a single source. You can learn more about the technology in his “magnetic positioning sphere” here, and how it has the potential to be used to develop future wearables and in applications which require instant and accurate 3D positioning, such as navigating firefighters in indoor rescue efforts.

Supercharging batteries…
18-year-old Singaporean Zhilin Wang has come up with a fast and affordable way to charge renewable energy batteries, making life easier for people who live in places without reliable electricity. 79% of families in third world countries do not have access to power. By making lighting more accessible to them, Zhilin hopes many more kids will be able to learn to read and do their homework at night.

... and study
Also from Singapore, 17-year-old Girish Kumar has developed “RevUp”, a tool that automatically generates multiple-choice questions out of online texts. The idea behind this is to help reinforce what students learn inside the classroom and to save teachers time preparing revision materials. Click on the video below to see how easy Girish has made it to start studying for your next exam:

Congratulations to our inspiring Asian finalists and good luck at the finals! You can read more about our finalists in our spotlight series.

Posted by Andrea Cohan, Google Science Fair Program Manager

Supercharging Indian small businesses

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Did you know that small and medium sized businesses in India that use cloud and mobile tools grow 27% faster than comparable offline businesses?

According to a new report from Deloitte sponsored by Google, Indian SMBs that have harnessed cloud tools are also four times more innovative, 65% more likely to export and — good news for India — they’re hiring: 84% of them are actively looking for new employees.

Even better news: the employees of these digitally-engaged businesses are six times more satisfied with their work and nine times more collaborative.

To learn more about how technology is helping India’s small businesses go big, head over to the India blog.

Posted by Mohit Pande, Country Manager - India, Google for Work

Simplilearn: From Personal Blog to Global Business

Friday, July 10, 2015

This post is part of a regular series of interviews with people across Asia-Pacific who use the Internet to create, connect, and grow. This week Krishna Kumar, the CEO of Simplilearn.com from India, shared the story of how he grew his online education company aimed at professionals looking for new skills and offering them certification.

Q: Why did you choose to go online?
After exiting my last company, I was looking for an Internet-based business that would give the flexibility to build a large global business. While I was looking for a business opportunity, I maintained Simplilearn as a personal blog. Over time, I realized that this personal blog on project management had great potential to become a global business, and it eventually became one.

For one, it was not about what differentiation the Internet brought in. We are an Internet-only company. We get 100% of our customers online. We deliver 100% of our products online and we get 100% of our supplies online too. We have paying customers from over 150 countries including the US, Australia, UAE, Singapore, Canada, Switzerland, and South Africa.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge?
When we started five years ago, professional training was not an established category. However, as we grew, we scaled up our product and technology to attract customers from across the globe.

Q: What does the future hold for the business?
I want to establish Simplilearn.com as the go-to career destination for working professionals globally across all sectors, to impact at least a million careers annually. My vision is to be the career partner for people across the globe, enabling them to think about Simplilearn.com, whenever they are looking for career advancement.

Q: How has your digital journey been so far?
Initially we experimented with various digital channels for marketing, before we reached a state where the exact role of each channel was decided. Our overall digital spend is $40,000, and over half of that goes to AdWords, which goes to show how extensively we have worked with it.

Q: What do you think offline entrepreneurs can learn from online entrepreneurs?
In today’s world, being offline is not an option. Some part of the business must be online. The greatest learning for offline entrepreneurs will be your ability to think of the whole globe as your market. The Internet allows you to acquire customers from pretty much anywhere in the world, and that opens a wider opportunity.

Q: Who’s your Asian Internet idol and why?
One entrepreneur I really admire is K. Ganesh of Growth Story, a very successful online tutoring business. His ability to identify multiple large problems in the market and find an Internet-based solution is amazing.

Posted by Krishna Kumar, CEO, Simplilearn

Helping Asian Nonprofits reach new donors and work smarter using the web

Thursday, June 4, 2015

CanSupport is a palliative care organization for cancer patients based in Delhi, India. For almost two decades they have provided home care for thousands of cancer patients in and around India’s capital, as well as counseling services for patients and their caregivers. Just like any company, nonprofits like CanSupport need to have a reliable and scalable email and work apps solution. But unlike other companies, nonprofits don’t have a lot of time or money to spend on expensive or complex enterprise software.

We’re happy to announce that today we’re expanding our Google for Nonprofits program to ten new Asian countries today: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. In partnership with TechSoup, Google for Nonprofits is now available in these countries, servicing thousands of organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Nonprofits can now apply to join the program at http://www.google.com/nonprofits/join. Once nonprofits register, they will have access to a suite of free Google products and tools, including:

Google Ad Grants: Free AdWords advertising to promote their website on Google through keyword targeting.
Google Apps for Nonprofit: A free version of the Google Apps business productivity suite, including Gmail, Docs, Calendar, and more.
YouTube Nonprofit Program: Build their online presence with YouTube and overlay cards on their videos that link directly to their website.

Using the momentum that has been established by organizations such as CanSupport, we can’t wait to continue partnering with organizations across Asia. We hope these tools can help nonprofits find new donors and volunteers, work efficiently, and get supporters to take action.

As Sindhu George, Head of Resource Mobilisation at CanSupport said, "Google Apps enables us to work on the go, while being reassured about our data security.” We can’t wait to see the good that comes out of these partnerships in Asia.

by Aditya Mahesh, Product Marketing Manager, Google for Nonprofits

Three grants to help keep kids safe in India

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Editors note: this blog is crossposted from the Google India Blog

20 children go missing every day in India’s capital, New Delhi. It’s heartbreaking.

Many in India and around the world are working very hard to fight against child exploitation in India - from governments to companies to civil society to inspiring individuals. Most of these efforts, rightly so, have been offline, boots on the ground, and they continue to make great progress.

Now, we’d like to see if smart applications of technology can help some of these initiatives reach more people, more efficiently. So we're working with three leading non-profits in India, including piloting smart new applications of technology, with $500,000 in grants through Google.org to see if they can make a difference:

Childline India Foundation - Childline provides a free phone service for children in need of help or protection. By dialing 1098 any time of day or night, children or concerned adults can access care from trained providers who can connect them to government or NGO services. Google’s grant will support the Childline and help them develop an online platform for its services.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan - BBA's mission is to protect and rescue children from slavery, trafficking, and forced labor. Google’s grant will contribute to BBA's campaign on child rights, with a specific focus on child sexual abuse, including the development of an online information site, an advocacy campaign and a national conference for experts and providers.
Tulir - Tulir works to prevent and heal child sexual abuse across India. It offers a school-based curriculum to help children stay safe, education for professionals who work with children, resources for healing victims, and does advocacy around the issues. This grant will allow them to work at a larger scale, using technology and innovation.

We know this is a big problem, without a simple solution. But our hope is that these three grants can help reach at least one of these kids in New Delhi or elsewhere.

Posted by Rajan Anandan, Vice President and Managing Director, Google India and Southeast Asia

How India knocked mobile for a six

Thursday, April 16, 2015

We all know that cricket is very important to India. But here’s a chart that shows why India’s love of cricket is important to our understanding of the world’s Internet and, also, how the Internet is changing.

It shows what devices Indians used to make cricket-related searches during a single match from this year’s two-month-long tournament — India vs. Pakistan on February 15:

Over the space of the chart an average of 78% of cricket-related queries came from mobile. In comparison, 48% of searches from Australia during the Australia v. England match came from mobile.

This reflects two things. First, it shows just how hungry Indian cricket fans are for in-the-moment, on-the-spot information on everything from their favorite players' hairstyle to where they can get fireworks to celebrate a win. Second, this shows just how much the world's Internet is changing as more people in India and other emerging economies come online for the first time through their smartphones, setting new trends on how to use the Internet and in some senses leaving more developed markets, and their old desktop-based habits, behind.

If you want to read more insights from the world cup, please take a look at the larger study on our Asian edition of Think With Google, aimed at giving marketers and businesses better insights into how to reach and serve people in the world’s fastest growing region.

Posted by Simon Kahn, Chief Marketing Officer, Google Asia Pacific

"I always have a different feeling when I perform in Asia"

Saturday, March 21, 2015

How would you describe your YouTube channel in one sentence?
Positive, feel-good comedy created for humans and unicorns alike.

How did it all start? Why did you choose YouTube as a medium?
I spontaneously posted my first YouTube video in 2010. Prior to YouTube I used to record funny audio skits but the thought of also recording my weird face excited me. I had no plans of becoming a ‘YouTuber’ when I uploaded for the first time. It was as simple as having an idea, recording myself and throwing it up on the internet.

How was the response back then?
The initial response to my videos was mixed. There was a group of people who were supportive and, of course, there was a group of people that disliked the idea of an outspoken Indian girl. Today I can confidently say that both groups still exist BUT the lovers outnumber the haters by a landslide. Either that, or I’ve just learned to focus on the positive *eats popcorn*.

Which ones are your personal favorite videos?
My favourite videos are the ones in which I get to collaborate with people I’m a fan of. For example, my collaboration with Madhuri Dixit is definitely an all time favourite. I grew up watching all of her movies and idolized her as a child. To act next to her in one of my videos was a dream come true. I mean c’mon it’s Madhuri-freaking-Dixit! *breathe*

YouTube FanFest gives you a chance to get off-screen and on-stage. What did it feel like to be on stage in front of fans for the first time?
I. LOVED. IT. As someone who creates YouTube videos, I’ve gotten used to interacting with people through comments, likes and tweets. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that all of those numbers represent real people. When I’m on stage and I can physically see people interacting with what I’m saying, the feeling is surreal.

Tell us about your fans in India and Asia — what's different about them?
My Indian/Asian fans have shown me nothing but support from the beginning. I’ve performed in a lot of countries in my lifetime and I can confidently say that the energy I receive from Asian audiences is one of a kind. All of my fans across the world are amazing, but I always have a different feeling when I perform in Asia. It’s almost as if they’ve all welcomed me into their family and instead of fans, they’re all my brothers and sisters.

You have big plans to tour and meet fans worldwide this year. What inspired the world tour idea and what are you hoping to achieve through it?
I’ve been performing at various different shows for many years now and I think I reached a point where I didn’t want to be a guest act on someone else’s show anymore. I’ve been craving the opportunity to put on my own show and bring my YouTube channel to life on stage. I’m hoping to achieve two goals:
1) I want to put on a great show. I want them to watch the show and say ‘wow, this girl deserves 5 million subscribers.’
2) I want to stay true to why I started making YouTube videos — to make people laugh and smile. My show will be the ultimate reminder that life is and always will be beautiful if you simply decide to live it that way.

Meet India's newest members of the YouTube million-subscriber club

Friday, March 20, 2015

This post is part of our regular series of interviews with people across Asia-Pacific who’ve caught our eye, using the Internet to create, connect and grow. This week, we’re featuring The Viral Fever and All India Bakchod, the first independent creator groups in India to get 1 million subscribers on their YouTube channels.

How would you describe your YouTube channel in one sentence
All India Bakchod (AIB): As India's largest comedy collective, All India Bakchod is irreverent, biting, goofy, filmy, sharp, super sexy and extremely modest.
The Viral Fever (TVF): Our flagship YouTube channel - TheViralFeverVideos - is dedicated to creating the content India’s youth want, but can’t find, on TV.

What was the breakthrough moment for you on YouTube?
AIB: That would have to be our video titled 'It's Your Fault', which satirized the culture of victim blaming in India. We didn't anticipate it then, but given the pervasive nature of rape culture globally, audiences across the world identified with the message. Given that it is an issue we feel strongly about, along with the fact that it was translated into 10 languages and even played at the UN, makes it one of our most significant efforts.

TVF: Our first video: Rowdies (on TheViralFeverVideos). We believe it was one of the first made-for-YouTube videos to go viral in India and that was when we realized we had something special to offer Indians - a fresh commentary.

TVF's "Barely Speaking With Arnub" gets amazing guests, and then ignores them.

India is home to Bollywood which produces more movies and sells more movie tickets than any other country. You, as online stars, have just crossed 1 million subscribers on YouTube. What do you think this means for entertainment and content creation in India?
AIB: We're all here to entertain and YouTube gives audiences so many more options, which means that traditional entertainment will have to eventually sit up and take notice. The silver screen is always going to hold a certain appeal, especially in a country like India, but there's more than enough scope for the two to play off each other and create opportunities that we are only just beginning to see.
TVF: Our flagship channel now reaches the same amount of people as some niche channels that run regularly on TV. If you create quality content, then the audience will follow. With YouTube, you can also engage with the people who watch you, and understand what it is that makes them stop and laugh.

Tell us about your fans: Are you reaching audiences outside of India? What do you think drives audiences in India and beyond to your content?
AIB: First up, our fans are ridiculously loyal and patient, which never ceases to amaze us. And yes, as it turns out, audiences from outside India are also watching us. What works is that a bunch of people who look like them and sound like them are saying things in an unexpected manner. We're a bunch of ordinary Indians creating content about the various aspects of Indianness — and we're making them laugh as hard as many of our western counterparts.
TVF: 20-25% of our audiences are in US, UK, UAE and Canada. What helped us reach millions of people was our sensitivity in creating content fans can relate to and also the fact that we work we hard on our craft — writing, directing, editing and acting.

From streets to screens: a tour of Asia-Pacific's street art

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

So much goes into the making of street art and then it often disappears before most people can see it — leaving the story of the artwork and the artist who created it, untold. With today’s addition of 260 new exhibits to the Google Art Project street-art collection, these ephemeral works are now digitally preserved for you to explore wherever you are.

To help you navigate the back alleys, and make sure you don’t trip over any paint cans along the way, we’ve selected highlights from across the region:

Watch the making of the largest mural in India — a smiling, 158 foot image of Mahatma Gandhi — at the Delhi Police Headquarters during the st+art Delhi festival.

Check out how Portuguese artist Akacorleone, transformed an abandoned wall in Bangkok into a gold-and-black mural inspired by Thailand's national epic the "Ramakhien," during the Bukruk Street Art Festival.

Screen Shot 2015-03-15 at 2.27.02 PM.png

Bukruk International Street Art Festival, Akorleone

See how symbols of religion, wildlife and national pride have changed the face of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu as lax laws about graffiti, and continuous construction has sparked an explosion in street art in recent years.

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Kapilvastu, Nepal Children's Art Museum

Meander among the murals of Melbourne’s Hosier Lane, or see Perth transformed into an urban canvas following PUBLIC 2014.

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Infinitas, ROA

Or dive right into Korea’s Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, and see how local artists transformed the space for the Korean Graffiti Art exhibition.

Korea's Geyonggi Museum of Modern Art

Since bringing street art to the Art Project last year, there are now 10,000 high resolution images of public art from 34 countries and 86 art organizations to explore. We’ve also added more ways to experience street art in your daily life — bring the streets to your TV screen with Chromecast; discover a new artwork every time you open a Chrome tab; check out one of the new partner apps; or see the streets on your wrist with the new Android Wear Street Art Watch Faces. Visit the Google Cultural Institute to find out more.

Posted by Lucy Schwartz, Program Manager, Google Cultural Institute

Zoom with a view: Visit India’s stunning monuments online

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Since last year, we’ve partnered with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other institutions to bring a comprehensive range of India’s heritage sites online, including national icons like the Taj Mahal, Safdarjung Tomb, and the Ellora Caves. Starting today, history lovers and online explorers alike can now find new panoramic views of 31 Indian archaeological sites and monuments on Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute. Here’s a virtual walk through of some of these stunning monuments, made possible by Street View technology:

Begin your journey at the Gateway of India, a popular starting point for tourists who wish to explore bustling Mumbai, one of India's largest cities. Pan through the imagery for a closer look at the yellow basalt stone arch, covered with intricate Gujarati-influenced latticework.

From there, hop over to the Sun Temple at Konârk, one of India’s Seven Wonders and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for a glimpse of the chariot-shaped temple and its elaborately carved stone wheels, pillars and walls.

For a flavour of India’s royal legacy, visit the Mysore Palace next, one of the country’s grandest royal palaces. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, the Palace hosts the Mysore Dasara, which celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2010 and attracts visitors from around the world.

Next, wander through the remains of ancient India’s highest seat of education - the Nalanda University. Learn more about the amazing discoveries uncovered during its excavation through the Archaeological Survey of India’s virtual exhibit, “Nalanda: from Mound to Monument", on the Google Cultural Institute.

Following that, roam through Karnataka’s largest temple complex: the Group of Monuments at Pattadakal, an impressive series of nine Hindu temples and a Jain sanctuary. This World Heritage Site celebrates the Chalukya dynasty, narrating stories of their bravery and valour in the battlefield.

You can also head further down south to the state of Tamil Nadu for a look at Thanjavur Temple on Street View, a fine example of Tamil architecture created during India’s Chola dynasty. The temple, dedicated to Chola emperor Rajaraja, is entirely built out of granite.

That’s just a quick tour of some of the 31 sites we’ve brought onto Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute today by working with the ASI, as well as the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Karnataka Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation. We hope exploring the new panoramic views of these important sites will help people in India and around the world discover, explore, and learn more about India’s rich heritage.

Posted by: Chetan Krishnaswamy, Country Head - Public Policy, Google India

If the Indian Prime Minister’s Office had an app, what would it do?

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

India is going mobile. Every month, more than 6 million people are accessing the Internet for the very first time, through their mobile device. The phone is your window to the outside world, and soon your phone could be your window to the Prime Minister’s Office.

We share Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of innovation, aspiration and connectivity. That’s why we’re so happy to be supporting MyGov in a first of a kind competition as part of the Digital India program to create an app for the Prime Minister’s Office, which PM Modi announced over the weekend:

Rather than tell people what app they should use to engage with the government, the competition will give people a chance to say what they want from an app and India’s immensely talented developers an opportunity to build it. And we’ll provide some guidance and mentoring along the way.

The contest - more info here - will start rolling out now through three phases:

Starting right now and running through March 12th, anyone with an idea on what features an app from the Prime Minister’s Office should include can share it, and vote on other people’s ideas, on www.mygov.in (you’ll need to create an account to get started)
Once all the ideas are in, teams of developers will then be invited to submit rough blueprints (wireframes) for how they would build an app for the Prime Minister’s Office
Out of all the entrants, the five developer teams with the best designs will be invited to build an app - with some mentoring from Googlers - and the winning app, as chosen by an independent jury, will become the official app of the Prime Minister’s Office

India’s move from 300 to 500 million people online will reshape everything, including the government-citizen relationship. Already 50 per cent of India’s Internet users are mobile only. No country has built their Internet on that computing platform, in those numbers, at such a pace. In a time of such rapid, exhilarating change, no one person can claim to know the best tools the government can offer its citizens. But, as a group, we probably do know the answer. That’s the insight that lies behind democracy in the first place.

Posted by Chetan Krishnaswamy, Country Head - Public Policy, Google India

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