Chandni Chowk Market Goes Online
New Delhi: Over 2,500 businesses in the capital's iconic Chandni Chowk market are now online with their own websites as part of an initiative by Google, owner of the world's most popular search engine.
Google, as part of its 'India Get Your Business Online' initiative launched in November 2011, offers free websites and domains to small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the country.
"With over 137 million Internet users in the country, an increasing number of users are now looking for local information online," Google India VP and Managing Director (Sales and Operations) Rajan Anandan said at an event late last evening here.
An initiative like this helps SMBs get started on the Internet, he added. "There are 47 million SMBs in the country, but only 400,000 have a web presence. Of this, only 100,000 have a decent quality web presence," Anandan said.
As part of the project, Google India and HostGator went to each shop in Chandni Chowk and built over 2,500 free websites for businesses operating from the market.
Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal, who is also a Member of Parliament from the Chandni Chowk constituency, said the move will help these shop owners increase their business as information about them would be more widely available.
