March 31: Yahoo India is considering whether to accept the product or business proposals from the people in India in order to expand its pool of ideas, said a key official from the online major.
“We are planning an India-specific initiative, where people could submit their ideas that could be developed into online products or services. If they are feasible, we will mentor them,” said Mr Arunav Sinha, the senior manager, corporate communications, Yahoo India. Mr Sinha added that the company is yet to decide on whether the ideas would be accepted online or offline.
According to Mr Prabhakar Raghavan, senior vice-president and head of Yahoo! Labs, the company has already been hosting an annual ‘Hack U’ session to nurture talent and innovation among university students. The company had recently organised an event the Hack Day at IIT Kharagpur, where close to 250 students had participated. This session provides students with the opportunity to work on product ideas, develop working prototypes in a 24-hour hackathon and eventually stand the chance to win cool prizes.