Ashwini Vaishnaw on his favourite Google product and the craziest tech idea during IIT days

Ashwini Vaishnaw attended the Google for India 2023 programme.

At the Google for India 2023, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw offered insights into his favorite Google product, India's burgeoning tech landscape, and the surreal transformation of the tech industry.

Vaishnaw's enthusiasm for technology was palpable when he was asked his favourite Google product, "My favourite Google product… I really like YouTube. YouTube is very good."

When asked about what the craziest idea he had during his technology student days at IIT, the Electronics & Information Technology minister revealed that once what seemed like a distant dream but is now a reality.

He recalled, "We used to think that when will the day come when we actually play chess with a computer. We used to have lots of competitions in which through programming, the program should solve the most difficult problems of chess. We used to think when can we start conversing with a computer - we are already conversing on a phone. That is a gamechanger."

On the topic of Google Pixel 8 being manufactured in India, Vaishnaw expressed his support for the decision, emphasizing its positive impact on the country's economy.

He stated, "I think it's a very good decision to manufacture. Ten years back, electronics manufacturing was a small section - $20-25 million. Today it's already $105 million, a fourfold rise in the last nine years. The component ecosystem, very crucial for the growth of the economy, is also developing very rapidly. Mobile manufacturing was practically negligible nine years back. Today we have a $44 billion mobile manufacturing industry with exports totaling $11 billion. This is good for Google, good for India."

The discussion also delved into India's rapid growth in technology. Vaishnaw revealed that in October last year, 5G was launched in Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and now there are 3,75,000 live 5G sites across the country. This achievement has propelled India into the top two ranks of the top 5G ecosystems in the world.

Pixel smartphones will now be manufactured in India and the first devices are likely to roll out in 2024.