Google has announced new collaboration and funding initiatives to strengthen India’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, underlining the country’s growing role in global AI development. The announcement was made during Google’s Lab-to-Impact event, which was attended by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The event focused on how research, developers, and startups can work together to solve national challenges using AI, while supporting India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Discussions highlighted Google’s research-driven approach to scaling innovation—from labs to real-world impact.
AI Integration into Healthcare DPI
To accelerate the use of AI in public healthcare, Google has announced $400,000 in funding to support the development of India-specific Health Foundation Models, leveraging its MedGemma technology.
- In collaboration with AIIMS experts, Google will develop the Ajna Lens model for dermatology and OPD triaging, tailored specifically to Indian healthcare needs.
- Google is working with the National Health Authority (NHA) to digitise medical records, deploying advanced AI to create machine-readable FHIR standards.
- As part of this partnership, more than 400,000 NHA-registered hospitals and clinics will be mapped on Google Maps and Search, making it easier for citizens to locate nearby healthcare facilities.
Boost to India’s AI Research Ecosystem
Google highlighted its long-term commitment to Indian research. Over the past five years, it has supported the equivalent of 1,000 PhD-years of research across 25+ top Indian research institutes. Additionally, 166 Indian PhD scholars have been part of Google’s Global PhD Fellowship Programme, working on areas such as computer vision, AI models, and mental health.
Under the government’s AI vision, Google is also investing $8 million in AI Centres of Excellence across India:
- TANUH – IISc Bengaluru: AI solutions for non-communicable diseases like heart disease and diabetes
- Airawat Research Foundation – IIT Kanpur: AI-driven research for urban management and civic governance
- AI Centre of Excellence for Education – IIT Madras: AI tools to improve learning outcomes and education quality
- ANNAM.AI – IIT Ropar: Data-driven AI solutions for agriculture and farmer welfare
Major Push for Indian Languages
To promote Inclusive AI, Google has announced $2 million in funding for the Indic Language Technologies Research Hub at IIT Bombay. The centre will focus on advancing AI research in Indian languages and is being set up in memory of Professor Pushpak Bhattacharyya, a pioneer in language technology.
Big Picture
With these initiatives, Google aims to move AI from labs to large-scale real-world impact, positioning India as a global leader in AI innovation, while addressing critical national challenges in health, education, governance, agriculture, and language inclusion.