Google Launches Street View In India
Google Street View launched way back in 2007 in the U.S. Fast-forward to 2022, and India was still off the list. It wasn’t due to any incompetence by Google. Indian authorities were concerned about allowing the service to operate in India.
It even tried to set up shop and got rejected in 2016 for collecting images. But that’s all in the past now. Google Street View is coming to India in all its glory. Google India shared the exciting news on 27 July 2022 about the launch of the service in India. The tech giant will partner with big names in the Indian business industry to complete its mission to offer Street View in India.
Google Street View: Late to the party?
Earlier, Google Street View launched in India in 2011 and operated for quite a while before receiving a closure notice from the Indian Government. The authorities feared that the feature could be leveraged by criminals and terrorists to launch a planned attack at strategic points. It is quite normal for the authorities to fear new-age tech, especially when their neighboring countries don’t see eye to eye on most issues.
It seems that Google managed to convince the authorities about the usefulness of the service in India. In 15 years, Google covered over 100 countries for the Street View program.
Initially, Google will launch Street View in 10 cities and will soon expand the service to 50 cities in India. It will take assistance from Genesys and Tech Mahindra to help cover as much ground as possible. However, it is the first time that Google will take help from local companies to launch Street View in a country.
Google is also rolling out new features for Maps which will show more traffic-related data including speed limits data shared by the traffic authorities. It will launch first in Bengaluru to promote road safety.
