Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who was conferred the Padma Bhushan Award, termed it an 'immense honor' as he expressed his gratitude on receiving India's third-highest civilian award. He was presented the award on December 2 by India's Ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, on behalf of the Indian government. Sharing his thoughts in response to receiving the award in San Francisco, Pichai said in his blog, I am deeply grateful to the Indian government and the people of India for this immense honor. It is incredibly meaningful to be honored in this way by the country that shaped me. The Indian-origin Google CEO said, India is a part of me. I carry it with me wherever I go. (Unlike this beautiful award which I will keep somewhere safe.) Pichai hailed India's advancement in the field of technology and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the push in the direction. Prime Minister Modi's Digital India vision has certainly been an accelerator for that progress, and I'm proud that Google continues to invest in India, partnering with governments, businesses and communities over two transformative decades, he wrote. Google recently announced that it will invest $10 billion in India's digitisation. The investment is aimed at enabling more affordable internet access, digital transformation of businesses, and use of AI to tackle societal challenges. Talking about addition of eight new native Indian languages to Google translate, Pichai said, It means so much to see how people can access information and knowledge in their preferred language, and see the world open up to them in new ways. That's why I continue to be so optimistic about technology, and why I believe India can and must continue to lead, he said.