Tech giant Google supports news publishing in Indian languages in a newly launched program
Google, a major technology company, launched a new program for small and medium-sized vernacular news producers in India on Friday (June 16).
The Google News Initiative (GNI) created an initiative called the Indian Languages Programme that would aid local news producers in nine languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Marathi. Additionally, the effort would assist Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, and English news sites.
“Google News Initiative (GNI) today announced the launch of the Indian Languages Programme, a new initiative by Google, designed to support local news publishers in India,” the tech giant said.
Through this, Google will provide training, technical assistance, and financing to assist the chosen newspapers in enhancing their digital operations and viewership. The project will also give the selected entrepreneurs technical implementation help, individual consultations, and mentoring.
The tech giant has also asked qualified news publishers to submit applications, which are still open for submission as of June 30.
Additionally, the Google News Initiative has highlighted a lengthy list of requirements for enrollment. This comprises news publications with at least 50 full-time staff registered in India. It is preferred that the candidates are “small or mid-sized Indian language news organizations with a functional website and at least 12 months of continuous operations.”
Additionally, non-profit news organizations, “digital natives,” and broadcasters can still participate in the effort.
After a Google team and other advisors have analyzed the requests, a small number of publications will be chosen for the project.
The chosen local news publishers will next go through a “diagnosis process” in which their website will be assessed based on various factors, including page speed and the performance of fundamental web metrics. Afterward, Google will give publishers individualized help to deal with bottlenecks and improve the user experience.
