(Photo: IANS/Qamar Sibtain)New Delhi, August 3 (IANS) US-based tech giant Google on Monday announced the 2026 cohort of its Play Accelerator India programme, selecting 20 AI-powered startups across sectors such as education, healthcare, gaming, agriculture, finance, e-commerce, productivity, lifestyle and entertainment. The three-month, equity-free programme will provide participating startups with hands-on support in artificial intelligence (AI) integration, app quality, security, growth and monetisation. Through Google Play Accelerator India, we want to support founders across the full journey, from product quality and AI integration to growth, security, monetisation and global scale," said Aditya Swamy, Managing Director, Google Play Partnerships. Google said the programme aims to help startups improve product quality, strengthen security standards, expand user reach and explore global market opportunities while leveraging AI-led innovation. Google Play Accelerator India is designed to support promising Indian app and gaming startups through mentorship and guidance across product development, AI integration, growth strategies and monetisation.