Google CEO: India is a 'quick-test market' for company's products

Google CEO Sundar Pichai feels that India adopts "remarkably" fast to new products and services. And it is the country's "thirst and hunger" for connectivity that is the driving force.

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"We realize when we build for India, we can actually take it globally," Pichai told a local television station during his ongoing visit.

Google has developed many services in India -- YouTube Offline, for instance -- and then taken them worldwide.

Pichai says the video service was "made to work offline in India, and is now working well in other places." He added that Google is working on YouTube Go, a service that would function smoothly on slower internet networks.

An offline version of Google Maps is also being tested in India.

Calling India "a quick-test market" in another interview, Pichai said he sees the country's cash transition as an "exciting opportunity".

"We're thinking hard about how to adapt to a cashless India. We might bring services from Google on top of UPI that will make make payments easier," he said.

India, which is currently riding a smartphone boom, is at a "tipping point," said Pichai. And for him, to make Google relevant in this phase will "make it effective elsewhere as well."

Pichai's interest in India is not new. During his last visit in early 2016, Google had announced free Wi-Fi services across 400 Indian railway stations.

That ambitious plan is slowly and steadily taking shape as 100-plus busy stations are now equipped with Google Wi-Fi.

And the Indian-born Pichai wants more.