Sundar Pichai's India visit: Key takeaways from Google event

New Delhi: To further tap into the 51-million strong small and medium businesses (SMBs) market in the country, Google's India-born chief Sundar Pichai on Wednesday, during Google event, announced a number of initiatives to help these enterprises go digital.

Major takeaways include:

1) Google has launched Digital Unlocked -- a training programme to enable SMBs get online and start using Internet to grow their business. The training is being conducted with FICCI. 

2) Pichai announced that over the next three years, 5,000 workshops will be held across 40 Indian cities. The online training comprises a set of 90 self-paced video tutorials, curated specifically for India and will be available free of charge. The trainings are certified by Google, Indian School of Business and FICCI. 

3) He also launched Primer -- a free mobile app uniquely designed to teach digital marketing skills in an interactive way. Available for Android and Apple phones, Primer will also work offline and is currently available in English and Hindi with Tamil, Telugu and Marathi versions coming shortly. 

4) The US-based firm also previewed My Business Websites to help businesses to have a rich, mobile-optimised digital presence that will be launched later this year. 

5) Google's My Business will help small businesses set up website from their mobile devices and all they need is a smart phone.

6) Google also launched Digital Unlocked, an education programme, in association with industry body FICCI and Indian School of Business. The programme will offer mobile and online courses to help small businesses start their digital journey.