Google, Bihar govt agree to work towards strong digital partnership

Patna: In a major push to digital transformation, Google India and Bihar govt on Wednesday agreed to work towards a strong partnership to accelerate the state’s technology ecosystem, a communique issued from the chief minister’s office (CMO) said.A high-level delegation, led by Google India vice-president Chandu Thota, met Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary at Bihar Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday. During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on the possibilities of cooperation in sectors related to education, health and agriculture.Capitalising on the momentum, the CM invited Google to establish a Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Bihar. The invitation aligns directly with the state’s newly introduced Bihar Global Capability Centre Policy 2026, designed to position the state as an attractive, emerging IT and operational destination.“Both sides expressed agreement to work towards a strong partnership to accelerate Bihar’s digital development,” the CMO said.State’s information technology (IT) secretary Abhay Kumar Singh was also present during the meeting.“By expressing its interest to engage with Bihar, Google highlights a growing industry trend where technology giants look towards Tier-2 regions to unlock untapped talent pools and scale public infrastructure. If finalised, the partnership will significantly modernise Bihar’s administrative sectors and signal a major victory for the state’s 2026 industrial policies,” an IT official said.This proposed partnership seeks to decentralise India’s tech map away from western and southern hubs (like Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Pune), positioning Bihar as the new tech gateway for eastern India, the official said.Google’s major investments targeting the eastern coast are anchored by a landmark $15 billion (over Rs1.25 lakh crore) digital and AI infrastructure rollout in Andhra Pradesh. This initiative shifts India from an IT service exporter to an owner of massive, physical technology infrastructure. Its largest investment in India to date is the Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam (Vizag). It is Google’s largest AI infrastructure setup outside the United States.In Tamil Nadu, Google has partnered with Foxconn and Dixon Technologies to manufacture its flagship Pixel smartphones. Parallel to manufacturing, Google signed agreements with the Tamil Nadu govt to scale local SaaS networks, support startups and foster AI labs in Chennai.Google also operates major cloud regions in Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Delhi-NCR, providing critical cloud infrastructure for state e-governance projects.