Satish Sharma Meets Google India Officials, Discusses Digital Push in JK

SRINAGAR: On Thursday, Satish Sharma met with senior Google India officials to explore digital development initiatives and employment opportunities for the youth in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Minister held discussions with Ashish Wattal, Country Director, Google India, and Sanjay Dewan, Head for North States, Public Sector, Google. The meeting focused on building collaborative frameworks to promote digital inclusion, entrepreneurship, and skill development in the region.

Sharma highlighted the need to tap into the potential of Jammu and Kashmir’s youth through technology-led initiatives. He urged Google to partner with the Government in launching tailored digital literacy drives, skill-building programmes, and technology-driven entrepreneurship models, particularly for rural and remote areas.

“JK’s youth have immense potential. Strategic partnerships with global technology firms like Google can open new avenues in digital education, skilling, and job creation,” the Minister said.

The Google team reiterated their commitment to India’s digital transformation and expressed interest in designing region-specific training modules, certification courses, and workshops targeting students, professionals, and budding entrepreneurs in J&K.

Following the meeting, the Minister directed officers of the Information Technology Department to draft a concrete action plan for initiating joint projects with Google. This may include pilot programmes in IT education, cloud computing, artificial intelligence applications, and youth innovation labs.