New Delhi, Jan 8 (IANS): Google on Monday announced the second cohort of the GNI Startups Lab -- a 12-week catalyst programme that aims to help the next generation, independent, early-stage Indian news startups achieve financial and operational sustainability.

Created in partnership with Anymind Group and T-Hub, the GNI Startups Lab India supports high-quality reporting for local communities, niche audiences and previously underserved communities across the country.

"Chosen out of over 110 applicants from across India, the ten news startups cover a diverse array of categories of journalism, including investigative, political, medical, youth, climate, and local news that provides a voice to underrepresented communities," Durga Raghunath, Head of India News Partnerships, said in a blogpost.

"The diverse cohort features newsrooms from around the country, producing news in multiple Indian languages, including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu," she added.

Moreover, the tech giant mentioned that to support the news industry in tackling the scourge of misinformation, it partnered with subject matter experts to empower journalists and newsrooms with digital tools and skills needed to find, verify, and tell engaging stories while tackling the ever-evolving risk of misinformation.

Through 2023, via efforts like the GNI India Training Network and Data Dialogue, Google supported the training of more than 15,000 journalists and journalism students in over 15 languages, impacting over 240 newsrooms and media colleges.

In July last year, the company launched the GNI Indian languages programme in partnership with Mediology to help 400 language news publishers modernise their online presence and enhance user experiences across web, app and video formats so that more users can better access more content.