Microsoft-owned professional networking platform LinkedIn announced that it is now available in Hindi, the first Indian regional language supported by the platform. Less than 20 percent of India's 1.3 billion people speak English and that's the reason why most major social networking platforms have supported Hindi and other regional Indian languages for a while now, but LinkedIn was a notable exception. Now with Hindi support, the platform hopes to double down on its growth in India where over 500 million people speak the language. "India is a core market for growth at LinkedIn and the second largest market in terms of members after the US, accounting for 82 million members as part of a global community of 800 million members. India’s member base has grown by 20+ million in the past three years (15% year-over-year growth) and it has witnessed a spike in engagement and conversations on the platform since the pandemic." – LinkedIn Interestingly, this development comes a month after LinkedIn pulled out of China after failing to make room for itself in the country’s tightly regulated and censored social media market. "We have witnessed high engagement and member growth in the last year, and it is at this exciting inflection point that we are strengthening our vision to create economic opportunity for ‘every’ member of the workforce, and taking down language barriers for Hindi speakers across the world." – Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn. LinkedIn in Hindi will compete with local professional networking platforms like Apna, which is presently available in 10 Indian…
