Google, Muthoot Finance tie up to provide gold-backed loans through GPay

Global tech titan Google on Thursday said it has tied up with Muthoot Finance to provide gold-backed loans through its mobile payments service GPay.

Google also announced that from October 3, 2024, its AI assistant Gemini Live will be available in Hindi, and later eight more Indian languages will be included.

These announcements were made by the company officials at the 10th edition of 'Google for India' event here.

GPay is expanding its offerings by introducing gold-backed secured loans in collaboration with Muthoot Finance. According to Google India MD Roma Datta Chobey, about 11 per cent of the world's gold is housed in India.

People across India can now access this credit product, with affordable interest rates and flexible usage options--delivering flexibility to the borrower, and security to the lender, Google said.

As regards AI assistant Gemini Live, Hema Budaraju, Senior Director, Product Management, Google India, said that over 40 per cent of the Gemini users rely on voice interactions.

"Gemini Live is now being rolled out in Hindi, with eight more Indian languages--Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu--to follow in the coming weeks," she said.

In the coming weeks, AI overview, a Gen-AI based feature in Google Search, will also be available in Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil.

Marking two decades of Google in India, the big tech further revealed plans to integrate Beckn-enabled open networks with its AI model, Gemini, through an 'open-source Gemini Agent Framework'.

This framework will be accessible to all Indian businesses and users, allowing them to search for and discover various listings--ranging from electronics to agricultural products--as well as job opportunities and educational courses.

Users can conduct transactions seamlessly across critical sectors such as agriculture and skill development, all via a single interface that supports voice commands in multiple languages.

Additionally, Google said it is set to launch 'Gemini Flash 1.5' in India, one of the first few globally, within the next couple of months.

This upgrade will enable organisations to securely implement cloud and AI solutions, allowing them to store data and perform machine learning processing entirely within India.

"Google Cloud is committed to partnering with Indian businesses and innovators to harness the transformative power of AI. Through initiatives like our open-source Gemini Agent Framework and collaborations on 'DPI in a box,' we're not only advancing India's digital landscape but also creating a blueprint for digital inclusion," said Bikram Singh Bedi, Vice President and Country MD, Google Cloud India.

Google also notified the launch of Google Safety Engineering Center in India in 2025.

The technology major further announced that it has inked two long-term partnerships aimed at enhancing clean energy generation in India.

These collaborations are projected to contribute 186 MW of new renewable energy capacity to the Indian grid by 2026, it said.

The first partnership with Adani Group focuses on providing bundled energy solutions that will support the decarbonization of Google's cloud services in India. This includes a 61.4 MW solar-wind hybrid project in Khavda, Gujarat, which is expected to commence operations in 2025.

The second partnership with CleanMax involves a portfolio of 125.4 MW of clean energy projects, including solar and wind initiatives in Rajasthan and Karnataka, respectively.

Google has also collaborated with Nandan Nilekani's EkStep Foundation to create 'DPI in a box' --a plug-and-play model based on open network, identity, digital credentials, and other digital public goods, to enable other nations build their digital infrastructure.

Google's philanthropic arm Google.org, to promote AI literacy across underserved communities in India, announced a USD 4 million grant to the Central Square Foundation.