New Delhi, Jun 16 (IANS): Google on Friday launched the 'Indian Languages Programme' under its News Initiative to support local news publishers in India.

According to the company, the Indian Languages Programme is a comprehensive initiative designed to empower publishers through various components, including access to training, technical support, and funding, to help them improve their digital operations and reach more readers.

With support for a total of nine languages, including English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, and Marathi, this programme stands as Google's most diverse technology programme for news publishers.

Applications for the programme are open for submission till June 30.

The GNI (Google News Initiative) Indian Languages Programme follows a structured format that includes various components to support and empower publishers, which includes a range of activities, including scaled inspiration series and virtual workshops.

Selected publishers will also undergo a diagnosis process to assess their page speed, core web vitals performance, and other relevant parameters.

This evaluation will provide unified guidance on quality signals that are essential to delivering a great user experience on the web, the company said.

In addition, publishers will receive personalised guidance and support in addressing the identified areas for improvement, including remediation of issues related to Core Web Vitals, schema, site manifests, mobile usability, content formats, and additional revenue enhancement solutions.

Applications for the programme will be examined by both the Google Project team and external advisors.