Bangalore: Google has always been open and supportive towards empowering the society. The Google Impact challenge was launched with the idea to know how the non-profit organizations in India and around the world use technology to tackle social problems. This is the first time in the country the Internet tycoon launches the challenge and their second overall. The best four submissions will be awarded with 3 crore in addition to the technical support to make the project a reality.

Indian non-profit organizations can apply for the competition online till September 5 at g.co/indiachallenge. The top 10 finalists will be announced on October 21 and the voting for their favorite project will be open for public. The jury for the final selection includes Google board member Ram Shriram; Google's chief business officer, Nikesh Arora; Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving; Anu Aga, social worker and former chairperson, Thermax; and Jayant Sinha, managing director, Omidyar Network India Advisors. Three of the finalists will be declared by the board and the winner will be selected on the basis of the online polling by pubic. The Google Impact was launched in 2012 with an intention to support non-profit organization with a technical idea on how to change the world. The award winning ideas of last year ranged from technology that helped under privileged students to access educational stuffs to real time sensor that provide pure and clean drinking water. The final event will be held on October 31.

"I've had the privilege of working with budding inventors for many years, and I know India's entrepreneurs are some of the biggest and boldest thinkers in the world. Today I'm thrilled to be part of a new tech-oriented, venture model that will support our country's amazing engine of social entrepreneurs, identifying and backing the best technology ideas to improve the lives of millions." says Ram Shriram, judge and Google board member. Vice president and managing director of Google India, Rajan Anandan told sources, "We are thrilled that the Google Impact Challenge is launching in India. It is a great opportunity for Indian non-profits to scale their efforts to help solve some of our toughest problems. India already has a rich tradition of corporate giving and hopefully the Challenge will galvanize social entrepreneurship in India."