Betting big on its India game plan, Google on Monday signed an MoU with Telangana government to set up its first own campus in Asia in Hyderabad at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, which would double its headcount here to 13,000 employees over the next four years.
Telangana IT Minister Rampart signed the MoU with Global Head for Google Facilities and Workplaces David Radcliffe during his visit to the United States.
As per the MoU, Google is allocated 7.2 acres in Gallipoli, the main IT corridor here, to build its own first facility outside the United States. This facility, when fully built, will be one of the largest facilities globally outside its headquarters in Mountain View, California, with a built up space of about two million square feet.
Google expects the facility to be complete and fully operational in about four years and is supposed to start before the summer of 2019.
According to Radcliffe, it will take about 12 months for planning and the construction work is supposed to start around summer of 2016.
The Minister also had a meeting with Bram Bout, Director of Google education, and Rajen Sheth, senior director of product management for Android and Chrome for work and education.
The minister discussed several plans for upgrading educational standards and technology as a means to drive education.
State on Street View
Google, which has launched Street View in some of the tourist sites like Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, etc., in partnership with the Archaeological Society of India, will soon get permission to start it at the city level in Hyderabad.
Interacting with Google authorities, the IT minister put across his suggestion in this regard and they assured Hyderabad will get the first complete Street View city status. Google has recently brought Street View into the National Gallery of Modern Art in India with very high-resolution imagery.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks