On July 23, 2025, Google unveiled significant findings regarding the economic impact of its Play and Android ecosystem in India. According to third-party evaluations, this ecosystem generated an impressive ₹4 lakh crore in revenue for app publishers and the broader economy throughout 2024. Furthermore, it has been instrumental in creating approximately 35 lakh jobs—spanning direct, indirect, and spillover employment opportunities across the nation.
Developer Landscape and User Engagement
India stands out as home to the second largest number of active developers on Google Play globally, contributing over 10 lakh developer jobs in 2024. This vibrant ecosystem has been pivotal in crafting innovative offerings on the Android platform, significantly influencing the inclusiveness and impact of India’s digital economy.
Surveys reveal that around 72% of Indian users experienced their first internet access via an Android device. Additionally, 85% of respondents indicated that their Android phones serve as a primary gateway to digital public services, while 69% reported their initial encounters with artificial intelligence through applications on these devices. The open-source nature of Android has also enabled device manufacturers to produce affordable options, resulting in estimated savings of ₹25,200 crore in development and operational costs.
Innovations and Collaborations at Google I/O Connect India 2025
During the Google I/O Connect India 2025 conference held in Bengaluru, the tech giant announced a series of new initiatives and AI capabilities aimed at bolstering the Indian developer and start-up ecosystem. Among these initiatives are:
- Localizing data processing for the high-performance thinking model Gemini 2.5 Flash.
- Introducing new Agentic AI tools within Firebase Studio.
- Launching a training program in collaboration with Unity, a leading gaming engine platform.
- Partnering with three start-ups from the India AI Mission to develop innovative solutions for India’s Make-in-India AI models.
Dr. Manish Gupta, Senior Director for India and APAC at Google DeepMind, emphasized the crucial role of Indian developers in shaping the future, stating, “They are writing the next chapter of India’s success story, using AI capabilities to build real-world applications that are reaching millions of businesses and people across the country and the world.”
In a fireside chat during the event, Preeti Lobana, Country Manager for Google India, discussed the transformative potential of AI, asserting, “India’s developers are shaping how the world will use AI, and we’re proud to stand with them. We’re giving India the best tools, the most open platforms, and the strongest support to build boldly for the world, fostering a profound ‘AI Productivity Leap’ across businesses and start-ups.”
Additionally, Google is collaborating closely with BharatGen at IIT Bombay to develop indigenous Indic language Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) models. This initiative aims to enhance the utility of Gemma, a set of lightweight generative artificial intelligence open models, particularly for historically underrepresented languages and governance applications.
