TheMinister also said that startups need to experiment, fail and learn from their experiences…reports Asian Lite News
India aspires to become the largest startup ecosystem in the world, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.
Addressing a session on “Gateway to Growth – Roundtable on Indian Startup Ecosystem” in Abu Dhabi, he said: “Today we are the third largest startup ecosystem, but our aspiration is to be the world’s number one startup destination,” as per an official statement.
“The startup bug has caught India’s imagination. The entire innovation ecosystem that the startup industry represents is giving a new direction, new momentum to India,” he said, as per the Commerce and Industry Ministry statement.
According to Goyal, India offers one of the best ecosystems for startups with a special ‘jugalbandi’, or blend between investors and entrepreneurs to get a balanced outcome and achieve a win-win solution for all.
“I have seen tremendous response from the Dubai Expo where our startups have got the opportunity to raise finances, sign MoUs and get angel investments. All these aspects will help strengthen India’s strong bond of friendship with the UAE.”
The Minister also said that startup need to experiment, fail and learn from their experiences.
“I would urge all of you from the startup world to go extra mile and take the startup story to all the remote places, villages, small towns, northeastern India and other regions,” he added.
On the government’s role in promoting startups, he said that India aims to provide a level playing field and the best business ecosystem.
“We have recently finalised the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, which is expected to further enhance bilateral trade, B2B engagement and explore attractive investment opportunities.
“I can assure you that we will take this partnership to newer heights in the areas of sustainability, aerospace, space technology, connectivity, AI, data analytics, 5G, Metaverse, etc. We look forward to leveraging each other’s offerings and expertise,” he said.
In addition, Goyal said that the UAE-India partnership is destined to play an important role in the global economy and in ensuring a better future for billions of people around the world. “This will be a defining partnership for the 21st century.”
“Metaverse is a concept that stands at a cusp where it will be a lead factor in transforming the educational landscape,” said Maheshwari…reports Asian Lite News
Invact Metaversity, founded by former Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari announced it has received $5 million in funding led by Antler India. Maheshwari said the startup will use the funds to build a metaverse of education and expand globally.
Invact Metaversity is a platform built at the intersection of education and Web 3.0.
Founded by Maheshwari and Tanay Pratap, it provides employability-focused training to help the workforce realign with the digital world and secure themselves jobs in high-growth tech companies.
“We will use this investment to bolster the product and technology team for the Metaversity platform, build a virtual-first curriculum and expand into Europe and the US,” said Maheshwari.
Antler India invested in the platform, along with Arkam Ventures (lead investor) from India, Picus Capital (Germany), M. Venture Partners (Singapore), BECO Capital (Dubai) and 2am VC (USA).
Global early-stage VC firm Antler is one of the fastest-growing VC firms in the world and plans to deploy $100 million to $150 million in more than 100 Indian startups over the next three years.
“With focus on making education more accessible and inclusive, we’re excited to see how Invact Metaversity disrupts education in the country”, said Rajiv Srivatsa, Partner and co-founder at Antler India.
Invact Metaversity has also raised capital from more than 70 individual investors, like Balaji Srinivasan (former CTO of Coinbase and GP at Andreessen Horowitz), Caesar Sengupta (former senior Google executive), Nithin Kamath (founder, Zerodha), Kunal Bahl (founder, Snapdeal), Benjamin Ampen (Managing Director Twitter MENA) and others.
“Metaverse is a concept that stands at a cusp where it will be a lead factor in transforming the educational landscape,” said Maheshwari.
“Our vision at Metaversity is not only to democratise education but also to provide high-quality learning at an affordable cost,” added Pratap.
In last year’s Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced Rs 1,500 crore to further accelerate digital payments’ growth in the country….writes Nishant Arora
To further aid small businesses and empower entrepreneurs, the Union Budget 2022-23 should introduce additional startup-friendly policies and tax relaxations to enable spending on innovation, ease-of-doing business and reducing compliance costs, a slew of homegrown startups said.
New reforms, policy assistance and support mechanisms for establishing a focused approach in solving unmet financial needs through technology will significantly benefit the economy, they stressed.
“We’ve seen a substantial spike in the adoption of digital payments in the last one year. I’m hoping that in the upcoming Budget, the government will think of alternatives to the Zero MDR (merchant discount rate) policy, as that will help promote e-payments and drive significant digital adoption among businesses,” said Harshil Mathur, CEO and Co-founder, Razorpay.
In last year’s Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced Rs 1,500 crore to further accelerate digital payments’ growth in the country.
Telugu NRIs to Invest In Indian Startups
Mathur said that it would also be desirable for the government to increase contribution to the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS).
“Hassle-free loan disbursements, automation of tax and compliance, paper-less approvals, and incentives to adopt digital banking practices will also be welcome changes that can support the growth of MSMEs,” he added.
To incentivise startups, the government had last year extended the eligibility for claiming tax holidays for startups by a year to March 31, 2022.
It also extended the capital gains exemption for investment in startups by a year to March 31, 2022, to boost funding.
The country has also seen numerous startups incentivising their employees in the past year with buying back ESOPs.
“Deferring tax payments when exercising the option, plus waiving tax for some ESOP receipts, will also be a laudable change in the new budget,” said Mathur.
According to Ravish Naresh, CEO and Co-founder, Khatabook, they are hoping for a progressive Budget, especially aimed at promoting homegrown startups focused on problem-solving for India.
“New reforms, policy assistance, and support mechanisms for establishing a focused approach in solving unmet financial needs through technology will significantly benefit the economy,” Naresh told IANS.
“In addition, the government’s continued focus on enhancing digital infrastructure in the country will ensure progress towards equality in digital access in FY22-23,” he added.
In the last year’s Budget, the government had said it will facilitate setting up of a world-class fintech hub in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) city.
The government also proposed a portal to collect relevant information on gig workers to help formulate social security schemes for them.
Vidit Aatrey, Founder and CEO of homegrown social commerce platform Meesho, said that a singular focus on augmenting offline MSMEs with online distribution could be a game-changing economic transformation opportunity.
“We would like to see the government focus on policies that will create a level playing field for offline and online sellers with less than Rs 40 lakh turnover,” Aatrey told IANS.
“Simplifying GST compliance requirements for online sellers will also enable millions of small businesses to leverage the potential of e-commerce and contribute to India’s growing digital economy,” he added.
In addition to this, the startups hope that the government incentivises capital formation in the area of logistics and cold chains through policies and infrastructure development.
Akash Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, Zypp Electric, said that they are optimistic that the government will announce new initiatives to encourage local EV manufacturing, facilitate easy finance and create an innovative EV ecosystem.
“We urge the government to reduce GST on EV purchases and rentals from 5 per cent to 2 per cent. A reduced GST would allow consumers to smoothly shift to EV,” Gupta told IANS.
Indian startups raised a record $24.1 billion in 2021, a two-fold increase over pre-Covid levels, while $6 billion were raised via public markets with 11 startup IPOs, a Nasscom-Zinnov report said last week.
The Indian tech startup base continues to witness steady growth, adding over 2,250 startups in 2021, which is 600 more than 2020.
The latest funding round was joined by existing investors QED and partners of DST Global, among others…reports Asian Lite News
Fintech platform Refyne on Wednesday said it has raised $82 million in its Series B funding led by Tiger Global.
The platform enables employees to withdraw their earned salary in real time before the payment is due, thus reducing debt traps by providing instant access to earned salary.
The Earned Wage Access (EWA) solution provider said the since its inception (December 2020), it has raised a total of $106 million.
Earned Wage Access provides access to a portion of their accrued (but unpaid) salary any time before payday.
EWA is not a loan, therefore does not involve borrowing on the part of the employee and carries no cost to the employer.
“We built Refyne on the notion that everyone should be able to manage their personal finances without the threat of falling into debt traps due to liquidity shortfalls between pay cycles,” said Chitresh Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder, Refyne.
The latest funding round was joined by existing investors QED and partners of DST Global, among others.
The company has partnered with more than 150 organizations, catering to over 700,000 employees. It expects to reach more than 3 million employees in 12 months.
In less than a year, Refyne’s transacting user base has grown 68x and the platform recorded 165x increase in the number of transactions over the period, underscoring the liquidity gap being addressed by EWA.
The Series B funding will propel Refyne’s position as an innovative product in India’s fiercely competitive fintech space that is simplifying personal finance for the masses on a mega scale.
The funds will be used for product development, expansion of the team, and to ramp up various business functions, said the company.
“We believe Refyne will be the preferred partner for large employers that want to offer Earned Wage Access,” said Alex Cook, Partner, Tiger Global.
Refyne’s partner companies include Practo, TeamLease, CARS24, Tenon, Shadowfax, Rebel Foods, Acko, BlackBuck, Arti Group, Cafe Coffee Day, among several others.
Emerging as a global innovation hub, India is now boasting the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem. DPIIT has recognised more than 60,000 start-ups as on date…reports Asian Lite News
Union Minister of commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday inaugurated the first Startup India Innovation Week here to bring together the country’s key start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, funding entities, banks, policymakers, etc., under one platform to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is organising the first-ever Startup India Innovation Week from January10-16. This virtual week-long innovation celebration aims to commemorate the 75th year of India’s Independence ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and is designed to showcase the spread and depth of entrepreneurship across India.
Goyal said his ministry is now at a position to recognize at least four start-ups in an hour, and the government has recognised more than 60,000 start-ups so far. Inspiring the young entrepreneurs, innovators, incubators, funding entities, Goyal said, “We all should take failures as stepping stones to success and should focus on three goals — strengthening Make-In-India, innovation and mentoring the young talents.”
Sharing data about the participation of startups from the Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, Goyal urged the established startups to come forward to mentor them and help them to flourish their innovative ideas.
Emerging as a global innovation hub, India is now boasting the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. DPIIT has recognised more than 60,000 startups as on date.
Indian startups representing 55 industries, spread across 633 districts with at least one startup from every State and UT of the country have created over six lakh jobs since 2016. 45 per cent of the startups are from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and 45 per cent of them are represented by women entrepreneurs. Startups have the potential to accelerate India’s integration into global value chains and create global impact, said the Ministry of commerce & Industry.
However, the Left Front that has wrested many seats from the Congress and UDF in the recent bypoll is hoping that it would wrest Trikkakara from the Congress as well…reports Asian Lite News.
Kerala, which faced back-to-back floods, landslides, Covid, Nipah virus, and Ockhi cyclone since 2018, is having high hopes from 2022 as several projects are lined up and youngsters in large numbers are entering into start-up ventures.
After Congress leader and sitting legislator P.T. Thomas passed away on December 22, 2021, battling cancer at CMC Vellore, Trikkakara assembly seat is lying vacant.
The first major challenge for the political class will be an election on this Congress turf. The election has to be held before June 2022 and many senior Congress leaders are eyeing the seat. Uma, wife of Thomas is also a probable candidate for the election.
P T Thomas
However, the Left Front that has wrested many seats from the Congress and UDF in the recent bypoll is hoping that it would wrest Trikkakara from the Congress as well.
Given the huge mass participation at the funeral of Thomas, Congress has high hopes of retaining the seat while Left Front led by CPI (Marxist) is hoping that in the absence of Thomas, it has a chance to win the seat.
Another major political development in the offing in Kerala is end of the Rajya Sabha term of senior Congress leader and former defence minister A.K. Antony.
Antony’s term will come to an end in April 2022 and given the present strength in the assembly, of the three vacancies, LDF can win two and UDF one seat. While Antony has openly said in several interactions that he will not seek re-election and will settle in Kerala.
Political analyst Roy Mathew, while speaking to IANS said: “You can’t predict what is in the mind of a leader like A.K. Antony who can spring a surprise by seeking a re-election and if he throws his hat in the ring, that means he is the candidate and we can’t rule out that possibility.”
Tourism in Kerala is expected to get a boost under the leadership of Minister for Tourism Mohammed Riyas, who is also the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Riyas, who is in-charge of PWD, has thrown open the rooms of PWD rest houses to the general public at a nominal rate, thus earning revenue.
Riyas has already issued a new project ‘Caravan Tourism which is expected to grab a special place in the global tourism map like the house boat tourism that had brought laurels to the state.
The state is also planning film tourism by promoting certain spots that had become popular after being depicted in Bollywood movies like Athirapally waterfalls, Bekal fort, Kovalam lighthouse, Munnar, and other destinations. In effect, Kerala is trying to piggy-ride on the popularity of movies to lure domestic tourists in large numbers through the season.
The FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 and the soccer-crazy population of the state has already booked tickets to see a live performance of legends like Leonel Messy, Napier, and other greats of the football world.
With a huge expatriate population of Malayalees in the Middle East, this World Cup would probably be the first with a predominant Keralite population in the galleries.
The major controversy plaguing the state is the Semi High-speed rail or K-rail that has become a bone of contention between the ruling class and the opposition with the BJP that is ruling the Central government also opposing the project.
With a proposal of more than 1,00,000 crore project, the naysayers are of the opinion that this project would be a white elephant meant only to make fast bucks by the ruling class.
The greens also opposed the project, saying that it would lead to more destruction of wetlands and boring of hills will lead to a further imbalance of the fragile ecosystem of the state. They have advanced apprehensions that this would lead to landslips in the future.
The flagship project of Vizhinjam International Container Transshipment Terminal will not be commissioned in 2022 as the Adani ports have requested the state government for more time and will be commissioned in early 2023 while almost all the remaining work will be completed by 2022. The first international vessel is expected to reach the transhipment project on March 23, 2023.
The first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is likely to commence construction at Kinalur in Kozhikode and the Wayanad Government Medical college is also expected to kickstart construction in 2022 in the hill district of Kerala with a predominantly tribal population and lacking health infrastructure.
Information Technology has been a driving force for the highly educated state since the mid-1990s and the state is planning more technoparks in both the government and private sectors to increase production.
Interestingly, pandemic period also witnessed huge growth in the IT sector while all the other sectors had taken a back seat and this exactly is the reason why the government is keen to promote the sector.
The Thiruvananthapuram Technopark, the first park in the country is in an expansion mode and the Phase III of the park is likely to be completed in November 2022 with almost all the space already being filled before the work is completed.
TCS, Tech Mahindra, and IBM are also setting up major infrastructure in the state by the end of 2022.
Thar SUV (Photo: @Mahindra_Thar /Twitter)
Agriculture sector that has been on a backburner in state is looking up with several Farm Producer Cooperatives coming up in all areas of the state with the support of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and many of these Farm cooperatives are involved in making value-added products from tapioca, banana and jack fruit and is earning export revenue.
The Balaramapuram handloom which has been a traditional weaving cluster of the state is also looking up with the Hollywood fashion designer Sanjana John making a documentary and promising the weavers that she would display their product at the Oscar award-winning function. Union Minister of State for External affairs V. Muraleedharan, who hails from Kerala, had taken the initiative in this regard.
While Covid and its new variant Omicron are a cause of worry to the people and the authorities, the state is well poised to move ahead with more vaccinations to older people and children alike.
The American Telugu Association (ATA) has facilitated a $20 million investment in Indian startups by organising business seminars since 2014…reports Asian Lite News
According to the association, which is working to promote Telugu community in the US, they have been conducting business seminars in Hyderabad once every two years.
These business seminars encouraged multiple companies to move into second tier cities; and start T-Hub in Khammam town, which was a big accomplishment made possible by Lax Chepuri, ATA co-chair for business.
Telugu NRIs to Invest In Indian Startups
The business seminar held in Hyderabad on Thursday focused on encouraging Telugu entrepreneurs with mentorship and funding. The meet was aimed at promoting the business environment in tier-II cities of Telangana.
This is an initiative to encourage business ideas, mentor young entrepreneurs, provide a platform for venture capitalists, and startup companies. Nearly 100 mentors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and technology experts based in the US and in India attended the seminar.
KASHI KOTHA, BUSINESS COMMITTEE CHAIR, ATA VEDUKALU: “This business seminar agenda was multifold, to increase networking and interaction between the US-based Telugu entrepreneurs and business owners based in Telangana; mentor and invest in start-up companies in India, especially those based in Telangana; and attract more companies into second tier cities like Khammam, Warangal, Nalgonda, Karimnagar, and Nizamabad.”
“Telugu entrepreneurs are gaining prominence across the US and around the world. This ATA business seminar is an effort to promote US-India partnerships and encourage entrepreneurs to invest in various districts across Telangana,” said Jayanth Challa, Conference Advisory Committee Chair, ATA.
In addition to mentoring and potential investment discussions between investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, the seminar is also the launch pad for a continuous dialogue between various enterprises planning to move to second tier cities and officials representing the Telangana government.
Senior executives of the state government took part in the seminar, including Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secretary; Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Transport Minister; Vijay Rangineni, CEO IT Investments Telangana government, and Srikanth Sinha, CEO Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge.
ATA President Bhuvanesh Boojala, ATA President Elect Madhu Bommineni, Conference Coordinator Kiran Pasham and others addressed the seminar.
The ATA is a premier national organisation established in 1990 in the USA representing over 500,000 people across the US, majority of whom are first generation Indians coming from the Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
It is involved in promoting community services, business, cultural and social activities, student assistance, and preservation and promotion of Telugu language and heritage in the US, and across the globe.
The event is organised to promote the products and brands of women entrepreneurs from the Kashmir…reports Asian Lite News
A five-day-long all-womens’ entrepreneurship exhibition was organized at the Kashmir Haat in Srinagar on Saturday.
The exhibition was organized by Exceeding Event Expectations (EREIGNIS) in collaboration with Jammu and Kashmir handicraft and handloom department.
“This five-day event is for all women entrepreneurs who have their own startups or are already into business. With this platform, these entrepreneurs will be allowed to exhibit their products and promote their brands,” said Sheenam Bakhshi, one of the organisers of the event.
“This event is also to question the social stigma of women being only fit for kitchens,” she added.
Speaking to ANI, Mehmood Shah, the Director of Handicraft and Handlooms, Kashmir appreciated the contribution of women in the handicrafts and said, “Some handicrafts are exclusively taken up by women including weaving, embroidery, crewel, Chain stitch and many more. However, it is time that we reinvent it and add new entrepreneurs, new designs, colour schemes and market the craft differently.”
Asma Bhat, a 19-year old traditional food staller expressed her delight and said, “The intent is to empower the females against the stereotype that women are suppressed, however, that shouldn’t be the actuality. If today I get a good response, maybe in 2-3 years, I open my own restaurant.” (ANI)
PM Modi called for a human centric approach to overcome the health challenges..reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday invited investment into India, based on what he dubbed were the “five pillars of talent, market, capital, ecosystem and a culture of openness”.
Delivering the keynote address at the fifth edition of ‘VivaTech Summit’, the PM said, “India’s strides in the world of tech and start-up are well-known. Our nation is home to one of the world’s largest start-up ecosystems. Several unicorns have come up in recent years. Indian tech-talent pool is famous across the world. Indian youth have given tech solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.”
Modi said the emphasis should be on sustainable lifestyles that stop ecological degradation and that the focus should be on “repair and prepare” as the nation emerges from the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. He added that there is a need to insulating the planet against the next pandemic. “We have to continue repairing health infrastructure and our economies,” he said.
In India, which is under the grip of second wave of Covid-19, the infection has been spreading at a fast pace, making new records almost daily in terms of the number of people infected.
The Prime Minister called upon the start-up community to take the lead in working with collective spirit and a human centric approach to overcome the health challenges. “The start-up space is dominated by youngsters. These are people free from the baggage of the past. They are best placed to power global transformation. Our start-ups must explore areas such as health care, eco-friendly technology, including waste recycling, agriculture, new age tools of learning,” he said.
On the issue of digital partnership from start-ups to quantum computing that have emerged as a key priority, Modi said, “History has shown that leadership in new technology drives economic strength, jobs and prosperity. But, our partnerships must also serve a larger purpose, in service of humanity. This pandemic is not only a test of our resilience, but also of our imagination.”
The funding round values the company at around $16.5 billion post-money with investors like Intel Capital, Sapphire Ventures and Alibaba Group. …reports Sanjeev Sharma
Edtech company Byju’s is now India’s most valuable unicorn startup with a valuation of $16.5 billion, surpassing fintech company Paytm’s $16 billion valuation.
As per CB Insights data, as of June 2021, Byju’s is the 11th most valuable startup in the world.
The total number of unicorns worldwide is 708 with a valuation of $ 2319 billion. Chinese company Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok, is the most valuable startup in the world with a valuation of $140 billion.
Byju’s investors include Tencent Holdings, Lightspeed India Partners and Sequoia Capital India. It has recently raised $350 million from UBS, private equity giant Blackstone, Abu Dhabi state fund ADQ, Phoenix Rising and video conference firm Zoom’s founder Eric Yuan.
One97 Communications, the parent company of Byju’s, has a valuation of $16 billion with investors like Intel Capital, Sapphire Ventures and Alibaba Group.
A unicorn company, or unicorn startup, is a private company with a valuation over $1 billion. As of June 2021, there are more than 700 unicorns around the world. Popular former unicorns include Airbnb, Facebook and Google. The variants include a decacorn, valued at over $10 billion, and a hectocorn, valued at over $100 billion, CB Insights said.
Oyo Rooms is valued at $9 billion with investors like SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital India and Lightspeed India Partners.
The National Stock Exchange is valued at $6.5 billion with investors including TA Associates, SoftBank Group and GS Growth.
Ola Cabs is valued at $6.3 billion and has investors like Accel Partners, SoftBank Group and Sequoia Capital.
Zomato is valued at $5.4 billion with investors including Sequoia Capital and VY Capital. Another food delivery chain, Swiggy, is vaued at $5 billion and its investors include Accel India, SAIF Partners and Norwest Venture Partners.
Internet software company Dream11 is valued at $5 billion with investors including Kaalari Capital, Tencent Holdings and Steadview Capital.
Logistics company Udaan is valued at $ 3.1 billion and has investors including DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Microsoft ScaleUp.
Fintech company Razorpay is valued at $3 billion with investors like Y Combinator, Tiger Global Management and Matrix Partners India.
Fintech company Pine Labs is also valued at $3 billion with investors namely MasterCard, Temasek and PayPal Ventures.
Logistics company Delivery is another firm that is valued at $3 billion with investors including Times Internet, Nexus Venture Partners and SoftBank Group.
Policybazaar is valued at $2.4 billion, Renew Power at $2.28 billion, fintech company CRED at $2.2 billion, consumer company FirstCry at $2.1 billion, software company Meesho at $2.1 billion, while Sharechat is also valued at $2.1 billion.
Edtech copany Unacademy is valued at $2 billion, ecommerce company Urban Company is valued at $2.1 billion, BillDesk at $1.9 billion and DigitInsurance at the same number.
Lenskart is valued at $1.5 billion, Five Star Business Finance at $1.4 billion, Rivigo at $1.07 billion, Snapdeal at $1 billion as also Inmobi, Ola Electric, Cars 24, Daily Hunt, Infra Market and Groww.
Meanwhile, Ed-tech firm BYJU’S on Wednesday announced a partnership with Google to aid continuity of online learning for both teachers and students.
As part of the partnership, Google Workspace for Education will combine BYJU’S’ pedagogy to empower teachers in their journey towards digital transformation. Built on the Vidyartha platform, this partnership will provide direct access to the ed-tech company’s extensive math and science pedagogy and visually-rich learning solutions, including chapter-wise slides, readymade assignments, data banks, summary docs, handouts, tests, and more.
“The significant rise and acceptance of online learning in the last one year has led to the swift digitisation of our education system. Teachers and students had to adapt to online learning overnight and are now rapidly discovering its potential,” said Mrinal Mohit, Chief Operating Officer, BYJU’S, in a statement.
“Through our partnership with Google, we are aiming to aid this digital revolution and equip our educators with the necessary technological and learning assets to ensure continuity of education,” Mohit added.
The platform also features Google Classroom, offering simplicity and flexibility, along with a security experience for all educators. Besides the Google Workspace for Education features that include Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms, teachers will get access to Google Meet — Google’s premium video conferencing solution — where up to 100 people can participate using Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, for free.
“We are thrilled to partner with BYJU’S in reaching out to schools across the country to bring rich and interactive English-based learning solutions that complement school curriculum, and look forward to working to make this offering available in Indian languages later,” said Bani Dhawan, Head of Education – South Asia, Google.
