Digital
Google rolls out $15B AI, education and connectivity plan for India
AI tools for 11 million students, new subsea cables, and a national skilling push.
NEW DELHI: Google is backing its words with action. In a major push to future-proof the world’s most populous nation, Google DeepMind has partnered with the Indian government on a large-scale AI initiative.
Announced by CEO Sundar Pichai at the India AI Impact Summit, the deal is less of a gentle nudge and more of a full-throttle sprint into the digital age. Part of Google’s $15 billion commitment to South Asia, the plan aims to weave artificial intelligence into the very fabric of Indian daily life, from the deep ocean floor to the back of the classroom.
The most heart-warming slice of this digital pie is the focus on the next generation. Google is partnering with 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs, effectively dropping high-tech AI tools into the laps of roughly 11 million students.
The goal? To introduce generative AI assistance in schools, ensuring that the homework of the future is powered by more than just caffeine and late-night panic.
While the kids are busy with AI in the classroom, Google is busy under the sea. The newly minted India-America Connect Initiative involves laying down serious hardware, specifically, new subsea cable routes.
These digital arteries will link India to Singapore, South Africa and Australia. By adding four more strategic fiber-optic routes connecting the U.S. to the Southern Hemisphere, Google is essentially building a “data superhighway” to ensure India’s AI capabilities don’t get stuck in traffic.
Knowing how to use a tool is just as important as owning it. To bridge the gap, Google is launching its most ambitious skilling program yet: the Google AI Professional Certificate. This program is designed to help the workforce master AI without needing a PhD in robotics.
With full-stack connectivity and a massive investment on the table, India isn’t just joining the AI race; it’s looking to set the pace.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
