Technology giant Google is currently working with the Government of India in order to launch a nationwide contest for developing a mobile app for the Prime Minister’s Office. This contest is an initiative undertaken by the government to support its Digital India programme.
The search giant released a statement saying, "MyGov, the citizen engagement platform of the Government and Google are collaborating to launch a nationwide contest to develop a mobile application for the PM's office".
According to Google, the main aim of the application would be to bring the Prime Minister Office closer to each and every citizen of the country. The contest will showcase the country’s talent and how Indians are also capable of building a world class application.
Google has plans of launching a number of initiatives as a part of supporting the PM’s vision, these include programmes such as getting Indian SMEs online, helping more and more women get online, showcasing the country’s rich culture and heritage online which will result in the digital empowerment of the citizen’s of the country.
According to the tech giant, it will continue to help the government’s transition into an increasingly ‘mobile’ India by building a vibrant language ecosystem online.
Google is all set to introduce curriculum for officials, schools and elected representatives in order to encourage internet safety and digital literacy among the citizens.
The tech giant is also working closely with the country’s Department of Information and Technology and other state governments in order to develop such initiatives for them.
According to RS Sharma’s statement to PTI, “I’m happy Google is coming forward to roll out initiatives that will contribute to the Digital India vision. I’m sure others will come forward and join this moment”. RS Sharma is the Secretary at Department of Information and Technology.
According to Rajan Anandan, Google India Vice President and Managing Director, with over 245 million users as of June 2014, India has now become home to the third largest number of Internet users all over the globe. It can be expected to acquire the second position by next year and have a 500 million user market by 2016.
He further adds, “Yet, there are more than a million a billion people who will need to be brought online for India to realize the vision of connected, knowledge economy”. According to Anandan, Narendra Modi’s Prime Minister Digital India Programme can play a transformational role in getting more and more citizens online and changing the face of the country.
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