MAM
Pankaj Gupta joins Coinbase from Google Pay
NEW DELHI: In an attempt to build a strong team from scratch, American cryptocurrency exchange company Coinbase has appointed Pankaj Gupta as its vice president – engineering and site lead for India. Before joining Coinbase, Gupta was leading Google Pay Engineering in APAC.
To expand its operations in India, Coinbase is all set to hire hundreds of employees across various roles in the next one or two years.
"For the next phase of my life after Google, I am thrilled to share that I will be joining Coinbase as VP of engineering and site lead for India. I’ll be responsible for leading and building the company’s technology hub in India from scratch. I will be hiring across India," wrote Gupta on his blog.
He added that India has world-class tech expertise and some of the brightest minds in the industry. He also expressed his aim to tap and develop local talent in India.
"The plan is to hire hundreds of employees across all levels in engineering, product management, UX design, research, and program management within the next one to two years to build out a full tech hub in India. Together, we’ll work on some of the most interesting challenges spanning the full modern tech stack — including deep tech areas like blockchains, data engineering, infrastructure, machine learning, and more," he added.
On 25 March, Coinbase had said that the company is planning to open a physical office in Hyderabad. The decision to expand its operations in India comes at a time when the central government is mulling a ban on cryptocurrency.
Brands
Uidai partners with Google to help users locate Aadhaar centres
Verified Aadhaar centres to appear on Maps with services and access info
MUMBAI: Finding an Aadhaar centre may soon be as easy as finding your favourite café. In a move aimed at making public services more accessible, the Unique Identification Authority of India has partnered with Google to display authorised Aadhaar centres on Google Maps. The feature, expected to roll out in the coming months, will allow residents to locate verified centres quickly and confidently.
More than 60,000 Aadhaar centres, including state of the art Aadhaar Seva Kendras, will be mapped. When users search on Google Maps, they will be directed to authorised facilities rather than unverified listings, helping curb misinformation and confusion.
The listings will do more than drop a pin. Users will be able to see the nature of services offered at each centre, whether it is adult enrolment, child enrolment, or limited to address and mobile number updates. Details such as operating hours, parking availability and divyang friendly infrastructure will also be shown wherever applicable.
Uidai CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, said the collaboration is part of the authority’s continued effort to improve ease of living for Aadhaar holders by making authorised centres simpler and faster to navigate.
The partnership will deepen in its next phase, with Uidai using Google Business Profile to manage information and respond directly to public feedback. Looking ahead, the two organisations are also exploring the option of enabling appointment bookings through the Google Maps interface, potentially allowing residents to plan their visits with greater efficiency.
Google India country head, strategic partnerships Roli Agarwal, said integrating verified Aadhaar centres would help millions access trusted services with confidence, bringing essential government infrastructure closer to the people who need it most.
If all goes to plan, a routine Aadhaar update may soon begin not with a queue, but with a search bar.
