iWorld
Google pledges Rs 75,000 cr for Indian digital economy
NEW DELHI: Google has announced that it will invest around Rs 75,000 crore ($10 billion) in India over the next five to seven years. The announcement was made by Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
“Google will do this as a mix of equity investments, partnerships and operational infrastructure in the ecosystem investments. Investments will focus on four areas: enabling affordable access to information to every Indian in their own language, building products and services that cater to India's needs, empower businesses to transform digitally and lastly leveraging technology and AI for social good in health, agriculture and education,” Pichai announced.
“This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," Pichai said during the annual 'Google for India' event.
The CEO thanked prime minister Modi for the Digital India vision. He said, “Low-cost smartphones, affordable data, and world-class telecom infrastructure has helped digital India become a reality.”
Today at #GoogleForIndia we announced a new $10B digitization fund to help accelerate India’s digital economy. We’re proud to support PM @narendramodi’s vision for Digital India – many thanks to Minister @rsprasad & Minister @DrRPNishank for joining us. https://t.co/H0EUFYSD1q
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) July 13, 2020
Pichai shared, “India is setting the global standards on how to digitise payments and now it’s helping us to build the global product. Our AI-powered Bolo app is another example of technology build specifically for Indian users. Today, Indians do not have to wait to use the latest technology any longer.”
He also mentioned that the digitisation of small business has been a success story. Just four years ago, one-third of small businesses in India had an online presence, but today 26 million SMBs in India are searchable on Google platforms.
“Digitisation of SMBs has increased greatly in India; small businesses are now joining the formal economy by using digital payments. India’s digital economy is far from complete. There is still more work to do in order to make the internet affordable and useful for billions of Indians,” Pichai added.
In the last year's summit, Google unveiled tokenised cards, an artificial intelligence lab in Bengaluru, BSNL partnership, Google Pay for Business app for merchants and expanded Indian language support across its products such as Google Assistant, Discover, Lens and Bolo.
iWorld
JioStar revenue hits Rs 9,784 crore as cricket fuels 22 per cent growth
A surge in digital viewership and sports dominance fuels a blockbuster quarter for the media giant
MUMBAI: JioStar is batting on a flat pitch. The media titan’s fourth-quarter results for the financial year 2026 reveal a business scaling new heights, propelled by an unprecedented appetite for premium sports and digital-first storytelling.
Gross revenue for the quarter soared by 22.15 per cent to Rs 9,784 crore, up from Rs 8,010 crore in the third quarter. Operationally, the momentum was equally strong; revenue from operations climbed 21 per cent to Rs 8,372 crore. These figures underscore the firm’s successful integration following the Reliance and Disney merger, creating a dominant force in the Indian market.
The annual performance has been nothing short of a spectacle. Full-year gross revenue reached a massive Rs 36,248 crore, while annual profit after tax hit Rs 3,210 crore. This rapid expansion reflects JioStar’s ability to capture and monetise the massive growth in India’s media consumption.
Cricket proved to be the ultimate growth engine. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and TATA IPL 2026 delivered “record-breaking viewership” across both television and digital screens. The World Cup final alone drew a global peak concurrency of 72.5 million on JioHotstar, cementing its status as the nation’s premier streaming destination. On television, JioStar maintained a commanding 34.2 per cent viewership share, reaching a staggering 810 million viewers nationwide.
The digital numbers were just as impressive. JioHotstar averaged 500 million monthly active users, driven by consistent subscriber growth and innovative AI-led content discovery tools. These advancements are ensuring that JioStar remains at the cutting edge of the global “Race for Attention.”
With a firm grip on the country’s most valuable sporting rights and a rapidly growing digital footprint, JioStar is perfectly positioned for the future. It has built the ultimate content powerhouse—one that is ready to dominate the Indian living room for years to come.
