Ashwini Vaishnaw pushes Google to set up Tensor chipset plant in India

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has called on Google to establish a Tensor chipset manufacturing facility in India within three years. He has also urged the tech giant to introduce premium Pixel Fold devices in the Indian market as soon as possible.

Powerful tensor hardware

The Tensor G3 chipset comprises the latest ARM central processing units, an enhanced Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), and a next-gen Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) to support Google's artificial intelligence (AI) models. The demand for GPUs and application-specific chips, crucial for AI development, currently faces supply shortages due to extensive orders from entities in the US and China.

Vaishnaw expressed his desire for Google to set up a Tensor chip fabrication unit in India within the next three years. He emphasised the quality of India's manufacturing ecosystem and requested Google's support to further strengthen it. Google's entire supply chain team is expected to collaborate in India to enhance the local component system.

Pixel smartphone production

During the Google for India event, Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President for Devices and Services at Google, announced the production of the Pixel series of smartphones in India, commencing with the Pixel 8. These India-made devices are anticipated to be available in 2024, with Google partnering with both international and domestic manufacturers for production.

Additionally, Google Pay unveiled a credit facility for consumers and merchants in collaboration with banks and NBFCs, offering loans starting from Rs 15,000. The credit offerings are designed with a focus on data privacy, consent, control, and security.

Vaishnaw highlighted the potential of digital credit, suggesting it would transform the credit market and potentially reduce interest rates. He stated that small Kirana store owners currently seek credit from banks, but with digital credit, banks will actively approach merchants.

The minister foresees digital credit becoming a significant topic of discussion and study by October 2025, paralleling the prominence of digital payments today.

Sanjay Gupta, Google India Country Head and Vice President, explained how Google plans to leverage Generative AI to overcome language and regional barriers hindering businesses and online safety.

To combat financial fraud, Google introduced DigiKavach, an early threat detection and warning system aimed at identifying and countering emerging financial fraud patterns.

Google Cloud Managing Director Bikram Singh Bedi announced an expanded partnership with the government-backed ONDC platform to enable Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to sell their produce online.

Google.org grants initiatives

Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, pledged grants exceeding $7 million to support initiatives combating misinformation and leveraging AI for agricultural improvements in India. Specifically, a $4 million grant was allocated to the CyberPeace Foundation for online safety and digital literacy, and a $3.3 million grant was assigned to Wadhwani AI to support AI-powered pest management technology for staple food crops across the country in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW).

(With PTI Inputs)