Search giant Google today said it is working with government to launch a nationwide contest for developing a mobile application for the PM's Office, an initiative to support the Digital India programme.

"MyGov, the citizen engagement platform of the Government and Google are collaborating to launch a nationwide contest to develop a mobile app for the PM's Office," Google said in a statement.

Google said the mobile app will bring the PMO to every citizen and the contest will showcase how Indians can build a world class app. As part of supporting the Prime Minister's vision, Google will run a number of initiatives which also include programmes such as helping women get online, getting Indian SMEs online and showcasing India's rich heritage and culture online which will further promote the digital empowerment of citizens.

The search giant said it will continue to build a vibrant language ecosystem online and help the government transition into the increasingly 'mobile' India. To encourage digital literacy and Internet safety, Google is also introducing curriculum for schools, officials and elected representatives. Google is working with the Department of Information Technology and other state governments to develop these initiatives.  Google India Vice President and Managing Director Rajan Anandan said India is already home to the third largest number of Internet users globally with 245 million users as of June 2014 and is on track to become the second largest user market by 2015 and a 500 million-user market by 2016.

"Yet, there are more than a billion people who will need to be brought online for India to realise the vision of a digitally connected, knowledge economy. Prime Minister Modi's Digital India programme will play a transformational role in achieving this," Anandan added.

HTC hasn't made a tablet since 2011 or a Nexus device since 2010, but pretty soon both lacunas will be brought to an end by the launch of a new device: the Nexus 9. Rumored over the summer and confirmed by The Wall Street Journal's sources today, the Nexus 9 tablet will mark a revival of the Google-HTC partnership that produced the original Nexus One device. The Journal says that HTC engineers have been flying back and forth between Mountain View and their Taiwanese base as the two companies collaborate on the development of the new 9-inch device.

Earlier this month, a patent lawsuit filed by Nvidia against Qualcomm and Samsung mentioned that "the HTC Nexus 9, expected in the third quarter of 2014, is also expected to use the Tegra K1." Once that note was spotted, however, the document was swiftly revised to expunge the Nexus 9's name, with the current complaint on Nvidia's website carrying a later stamp of September 11th. Even without the WSJ's corroboration today, therefore, there's sufficient evidence of the Nexus 9's existence and upcoming release. Knowing that it'll be powered by the K1 processor also suggests that it'll be closer in nature to the high-end Nexus 10 built by Samsung than the more budget-conscious Nexus 7 line from Asus.

The imminent release of the Nexus 9 has also been confirmed by sources speaking to The Verge. No further specs or details are known for sure just yet, but it's reasonable to expect Google will unveil its new tablet alongside the full public release of the big Android L update. Announced at Google I/O in June and scheduled to be available in the fall, Android L marks a major visual redesign for Google's mobile OS, and the Nexus 9 — designed by HTC and underpinned by a very capable processor — sounds like a fitting device to show off the new software in all its glory.

Google Inc launched in India the first smartphones under its Android One project, pricing them at Rs 6,399 ($105) to capture the low-cost segment of the world's fastest growing smartphone market.
The Mountain View-Based company tied up with Indian mobile players Micromax, Karbonn and Spice Mobiles to launch the affordable phones, which are powered by its operating system and aimed at emerging markets.

After launching in India, Google said it plans to expand Android One to Indonesia, Philippines and other South Asian countries by the end of 2014 and in more countries in 2015. Google outlined the pricing and expansion details in a marketing document seen by Reuters. India is seen as a lucrative market for low-cost smartphones because many people are buying the devices for the first time. Just 10 percent of the India's population currently owns a smartphone, brokerage Nomura said in a recent research note, and that figure is likely to double over the next four years.

Google, however, is not the only company jostling for a share of the Indian market. There are at least 80 smartphone brands in India and analysts say the Android One phones must offer customers more than just affordability if it wants to compete with similarly priced devices made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Motorola and China's Xiaomi.

"The initial pricing never sticks but it'll be tough for them to compete if they don't come down further," said Neil Shah, research director for devices and ecosystems at Hong Kong-based technology research agency Counterpoint Research. In June, Google had announced the launch of the Android One project, which aims to boost demand for low-end Android smartphones by vastly improving their quality. Currently, many cheap emerging market smartphones run different and somewhat customised versions of the Android operating system, which along with the many variations in hardware make apps on those phones prone to glitches.