Google India Vice President and Managing Director Rajan Anandan 
has expressed faith that India may well be home to the next Google, Facebook and Twitter. Talking about the Digital India and in particular Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wish for the next big technology idea to be born in India, Anandan told ET Now, “We completely agree that India should not just be the home for the next Google, but also the next Facebook and Twitter.”
“The encouraging thing is we are beginning to see that,” Anandan added.
“Six years ago, India did not have a single unicorn in the technology startup space. Today, there are eight companies in India that are worth over billion dollars – three in the public market, five in the private market,” Anandan said. Anandan went on to say, “There are only two other countries in the world that have more billion dollar unicorns than India – China and the US. We (India) have gone from nowhere in five years to being the third in the world.”
According to Anandan, broadband infrastructure is key to the success of technology startups. “The only thing that India lacks today, when it comes to the internet ecosystem, is bandwidth. We do not have enough bandwidth and we do not have broadband,” he said.
The Digital India initiative was launched earlier this week. Pitching India as the world’s destination for the next big idea, PM Modi had asked on Wednesday, “If Indians can work in Google. Why can’t Google be made in India?”
Talking about his dream of digitally connecting India, PM Modi has launched his ambitious Digital India project. The project aims to create a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
Modi spoke extensively of his vision for Digital India, “I dream of a Digital India where high-speed digital highways unite the nation….I dream of a Digital India where 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovation…I dream of a Digital India where government is open and governance is transparent…I dream of a Digital India where technology ensures government is incorruptible…I dream of a Digital India where rural economy has access to e-healthcare…I dream of a Digital India where world looks to India for the next big idea,” he said.
