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In the past few years, online news has seen a rise in popularity across the country, with many joining in the line to launch their own portals or websites. While certain websites have proven to be highly lucrative and have garnered a substantial readership, several small and medium-scale news publishers continue to face challenges in establishing a strong presence among the wider audience in India. To address this concern, Google has launched a program to support local language publishers by providing training and funding opportunities to improve their operations and expand their outreach.

The program has been launched under the Google News Initiative (GNI), which is the tech giant’s digital skills training program intended for guiding journalists and newsrooms in tackling misinformation.

Google Indian Languages Program

As stated by Google, GNI’s Indian Languages Program is meant for small and medium-sized local news publishers in India, which will support English and other Indian language publishers.

The company, through what it calls its “most diverse” technology program, will offer support in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, and Marathi languages.

Through this program, a specific pool of news publishers will be given training and funding to enhance their operations and increase their reach among readers. As a part of this, publishers would be trained to measure performance parameters like core web vitals and page speed and will be also guided on content formats, building additional revenue enhancement solutions, and mobile usability.

Additionally, they will receive consultations and technical implementation assistance to develop an exceptional user experience for their websites.

Publishers will also get an opportunity to take part in virtual workshops, guest talks, and Google-led sessions on website optimisation, YouTube, and data analytics.

Eligibility for the new Google News program

Any Indian-language news organisation registered in India with an operational website will be eligible to apply to Google’s Indian Languages Program.

News organisations, including digital natives, broadcasters, and traditional media outlets, that have been in operation for a minimum of 12 months and employ at least 50 full-time staff members, are eligible to apply by June 30, 2023.