Alphabet Inc's&nbsp;Google has unveiled a&nbsp;$25 million global grant to non-profits and social enterprises globally, including in India, that are working on empowering girls and women.

The company, which has committed support of one million rural women entrepreneurs in India, also stated that its Internet Saathi digital literacy training programme has benefitted over 30 million women across the country.

Google's&nbsp;new Impact Challenge, a philanthropic initiative was unveiled on International Women`s Day by the company's CEO&nbsp;Sundar Pichai.

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the technology giant, is aimed at addressing systemic barriers and inequities so that women have access to economic equality, the opportunity to build financial independence, and pursue entrepreneurism, said Google chief executive Sundar Pichai at a virtual event.

"We are announcing a new commitment to allow 1 million women in the rural villages to become entrepreneurs, through business tutorials, tools, and mentorship," he added.

"In India, in the past few years, we have invested more than USD 40 million alongside the entrepreneurs, the innovators, the non-profits who are doing amazing work. We announced another million-dollar initiative building on that work, in particular, to help to acquire&nbsp;digital skills to those who are most vulnerable, including women," Jacquelline Fuller, Vice President at Google and President of Google.Org, said in a virtual briefing.

She added that one of the first initiatives under that effort is led by the NASSCOM Foundation, wherein the organisation is getting a $500,000 grant from Google.Org to support one lakh women agricultural workers.

"Whatever these teams need, we are going to be alongside them and help carry out their vision," said Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org, at the event.

The company said it will accept applications from teams worldwide until April 9.

Fuller also announced that Google.org is going to invest an additional $1 million to help underserved women in India. Even as India is the world`s second-largest internet market, women make up a small percentage of online users in the country.

Five years ago, Google launched a program called `Internet Saathi` to bring internet literacy to women in rural parts of India. The company said the program, for which it collaborated with Indian conglomerate Tata, significantly helped improve women`s participation on the Indian internet.

Four of 10 internet users in rural India are now women, said Google, up from one in 10 in 2015. The company, citing its own research, said the Internet Saathi program benefited more than 30 million women in India and that it`s now concluding the program to focus on other efforts to continue this mission.

Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director at Google India and Southeast Asia, said based on learnings from the Internet Saathi program, the company has launched the Women Will web platform that will be complemented by community support, mentorship and accelerator programmes for rural women entrepreneurs.

Alphabet Inc's Google has unveiled a $25 million global grant to non-profits and social enterprises globally, including in India, that are working on empowering girls and women.

Alphabet Inc's Google has unveiled a $25 million global grant to non-profits and social enterprises globally, including in India, that are working on empowering girls and women. The company, which has committed support of one million rural women entrepreneurs in India, also stated that its Internet Saathi digital literacy training programme has benefitted over 30 million women across the country. Google's new Impact Challenge, a philanthropic initiative was unveiled on International Women`s Day by the company's CEO Sundar Pichai. Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the technology giant, is aimed at addressing systemic barriers and inequities so that women have access to economic equality, the opportunity to build financial independence, and pursue entrepreneurism, said Google chief executive Sundar Pichai at a virtual event. "We are announcing a new commitment to allow 1 million women in the rural villages to become entrepreneurs, through business tutorials, tools, and mentorship," he added. "In India, in the past few years, we have invested more than USD 40 million alongside the entrepreneurs, the innovators, the non-profits who are doing amazing work. We announced another million-dollar initiative building on that work, in particular, to help to acquire digital skills to those who are most vulnerable, including women," Jacquelline Fuller, Vice President at Google and President of Google.Org, said in a virtual briefing. She added that one of the first initiatives under that effort is led by the NASSCOM Foundation, wherein the organisation is getting a $500,000 grant from Google.Org to support one lakh women agricultural workers. "Whatever these teams need, we are going to be alongside them and help carry out their vision," said Jacquelline Fuller, President of Google.org, at the event. The company said it will accept applications from teams worldwide until April 9. Fuller also announced that Google.org is going to invest an additional $1 million to help underserved women in India. Even as India is the world`s second-largest internet market, women make up a small percentage of online users in the country. Five years ago, Google launched a program called `Internet Saathi` to bring internet literacy to women in rural parts of India. The company said the program, for which it collaborated with Indian conglomerate Tata, significantly helped improve women`s participation on the Indian internet. Four of 10 internet users in rural India are now women, said Google, up from one in 10 in 2015. The company, citing its own research, said the Internet Saathi program benefited more than 30 million women in India and that it`s now concluding the program to focus on other efforts to continue this mission. Sapna Chadha, Senior Country Marketing Director at Google India and Southeast Asia, said based on learnings from the Internet Saathi program, the company has launched the Women Will web platform that will be complemented by community support, mentorship and accelerator programmes for rural women entrepreneurs.

Google to provide $25 million to social enterprises working on women empowerment

Today’s women on screen are just like their real-life counterparts. Independent, financially and in every way possible along with being strong-willed.

A striking contrast from the times where they were nothing more than a damsel in distress. The ladies who we see today on screen are the ones who encourage, empower and inspire us to be the one’s deciding our destiny.

That said, International Women’s Day is just around the corner and if you’re looking for some women characters to look up to, here are 5-woman characters from the digital platform who will certainly make you say “Women Power” proudly. 
 
Tara from 'Made in Heaven' (Amazon)

This Amazon Prime Video original takes us through the journey of Tara, portrayed by Sobhita Dhulipala, who is an ambitious wedding planner. The best part of her character was that she exemplified three qualities that any modern-day woman can relate to – being unapologetic, fearless, and practical. With each episode, you see how Tara goes through a roller coaster of emotions as she struggles to strike the perfect balance between her personal and professional life. It’s a show that not just shines the limelight on her, but a host of women who are immensely relatable. 
 
Aarya from 'Aarya' (Hotstar)

&nbsp;Sushmita Sen's Aarya is the web show co-created by Ram Madhvani and Sandeep Modi based Penoza. The show stars Sushmita Sen in the titular role as a mother looking out for her kids. This former Miss India and Bollywood Diva recently made a comeback with Disney + Hotstar's web series Aarya and gave her fans a performance to remember. The actress owned every scene in the series and dealt with every emotion, be it disappointment, betrayal, love, anger, and frustration, with utmost perfection. 
 
Masaba from 'Masaba Masaba' (Netflix)

Masaba Masaba is a web series that revolves around the stars Neena Gupta and her daughter and fashion designer Masaba Gupta. The duo team up to play a fictionalised version of themselves. Masaba is shown dealing with challenging celebrity clients and running a high-end fashion label. The show inspires all the women how to deal with the challenges thrown their way and shining amidst all adversity to break the glass ceiling.&nbsp;

Monica from 'Code M' (ALTBalaji)

This web series by ALTBalaji and ZEE5 stars one of television's most loved actress Jennifer Winget who plays the role of Monica, an Indian Army lawyer, as its protagonist. In the centre of a conspiracy plot in a military encounter, one would certainly expect Monica to come up short. But she answers every challenge and each critique in some style to come out on top in the end. You’ll certainly love this military lawyer who is sweet and adorable off duty but knows how to pack a punch as a Major while on duty. 
 
Umang from 'Four More Shots Please!' (Amazon Prime Video)

The series explores the friendship of four independent women - Kirti Kulhari, Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo, and Bani J and it deals with various topics including being a single mother, bisexuality and accepting your own body, among others. While Umang (Banji J) accepts her sexuality and receives support from her friends, her partner Samara (Lisa Ray) is deeply closeted. The show brings out how her character rises above the societal norms and embraces her sexual orientation unabashedly. 
 
Watching these 5 women being as strong as ever is all the inspiration you need this International Women’s Day to adapt and make a difference for the better.

Today’s women on screen are just like their real-life counterparts. Independent, financially and in every way possible along with being strong-willed. A striking contrast from the times where they were nothing more than a damsel in distress.

Today’s women on screen are just like their real-life counterparts. Independent, financially and in every way possible along with being strong-willed. A striking contrast from the times where they were nothing more than a damsel in distress. The ladies who we see today on screen are the ones who encourage, empower and inspire us to be the one’s deciding our destiny. That said, International Women’s Day is just around the corner and if you’re looking for some women characters to look up to, here are 5-woman characters from the digital platform who will certainly make you say “Women Power” proudly. Tara from 'Made in Heaven' (Amazon) This Amazon Prime Video original takes us through the journey of Tara, portrayed by Sobhita Dhulipala, who is an ambitious wedding planner. The best part of her character was that she exemplified three qualities that any modern-day woman can relate to – being unapologetic, fearless, and practical. With each episode, you see how Tara goes through a roller coaster of emotions as she struggles to strike the perfect balance between her personal and professional life. It’s a show that not just shines the limelight on her, but a host of women who are immensely relatable. Aarya from 'Aarya' (Hotstar) Sushmita Sen's Aarya is the web show co-created by Ram Madhvani and Sandeep Modi based Penoza. The show stars Sushmita Sen in the titular role as a mother looking out for her kids. This former Miss India and Bollywood Diva recently made a comeback with Disney + Hotstar's web series Aarya and gave her fans a performance to remember. The actress owned every scene in the series and dealt with every emotion, be it disappointment, betrayal, love, anger, and frustration, with utmost perfection. Masaba from 'Masaba Masaba' (Netflix) Masaba Masaba is a web series that revolves around the stars Neena Gupta and her daughter and fashion designer Masaba Gupta. The duo team up to play a fictionalised version of themselves. Masaba is shown dealing with challenging celebrity clients and running a high-end fashion label. The show inspires all the women how to deal with the challenges thrown their way and shining amidst all adversity to break the glass ceiling. Monica from 'Code M' (ALTBalaji) This web series by ALTBalaji and ZEE5 stars one of television's most loved actress Jennifer Winget who plays the role of Monica, an Indian Army lawyer, as its protagonist. In the centre of a conspiracy plot in a military encounter, one would certainly expect Monica to come up short. But she answers every challenge and each critique in some style to come out on top in the end. You’ll certainly love this military lawyer who is sweet and adorable off duty but knows how to pack a punch as a Major while on duty. Umang from 'Four More Shots Please!' (Amazon Prime Video) The series explores the friendship of four independent women - Kirti Kulhari, Sayani Gupta, Maanvi Gagroo, and Bani J and it deals with various topics including being a single mother, bisexuality and accepting your own body, among others. While Umang (Banji J) accepts her sexuality and receives support from her friends, her partner Samara (Lisa Ray) is deeply closeted. The show brings out how her character rises above the societal norms and embraces her sexual orientation unabashedly. Watching these 5 women being as strong as ever is all the inspiration you need this International Women’s Day to adapt and make a difference for the better.

International Women’s Day: 5 women from Indian web shows who’ll fuel your inner girl boss

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Google to provide $25 million to social enterprises working on women empowerment

International Women’s Day: 5 women from Indian web shows who’ll fuel your inner girl boss