Prasad meets Pichai, seeks Google’s involvement in empowering Indians

San Francisco, Aug 31 (IANS) India seeks greater involvement of Google in digital inclusion programmes including "Digital Village" initiative to empower millions of people in the country, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has told the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai.

Prasad met Pichai at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, on Thursday.

"Held a very meaningful meeting with @Google team at California HQ. Sought greater involvement of Google in digital inclusion programs of India including Digital Village," Prasad tweeted on Friday.

"Asked them to work for creating more awareness among India’s farmers about weather & scientific farming," the minister added.

Prasad was on an official three-day visit to San Francisco and the Bay Area where he held meetings with several top tech honchos, pitching for empowering Indians in their digital transformation.

"A truly informative and momentous visit to @Google campus in Mountain View, California. Great centre of digital technology research, development and empowerment," he further tweeted.

The "Digital Village" or "DigiGaon" programme is aimed at connecting villages with Wi-Fi and provide digital literacy to its residents and assist in entrepreneurship opportunities.

The government plans to expand the initiative to 700 villages across the country by the end of this year.