Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google has granted $4 million (about Rs 32 crores) to support a nationwide awareness and skill-building initiative led by the CyberPeace Foundation.  

The grant aims to reach more than 40 million internet users across India, including underserved groups like youth, women, rural communities, and the elderly. It will do so through training and community engagement programs, the company said in a statement. 

Moreover, this funding will establish a multilingual online resource center, providing 650 hours of free multimedia content and educational materials. These resources will cover the identification and mitigation of misinformation and the responsible creation of online content. They will be available in English and 15 Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Odia, Malayalam, Punjabi, Assamese, Maithili, Santali, and Kashmiri. 

The online resource center will also include the setup of helplines in various states and regional clusters. These helplines will help identify misinformation and share guidance against it. Expert teams in digital forensics, social media, and fact-checking will provide real-time support to stakeholders in managing and mitigating the impact of modern cyber threats and misinformation campaigns, the statement added.

Explaining the initiative, Vineet Kumar, founder of CyberPeace, said: "In an era in which digital is deeply intertwined with our lives, knowing how to discern, act on, and share the credible from the wealth of information available online is critical to our wellbeing, and of our families and communities. Through this initiative, we’re committing to helping internet users across India become informed, empowered, and responsible netizens leading through conversations and actions.” 

Annie Lewin, senior director of global advocacy and head of Asia Pacific, Google.org said: “Innovation and zeal of Indian nonprofit organisations have inspired us to deepen our commitment in India.”