15 Best Google Home Commands for Indian Users

Google has just released its Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers in India and I am really excited. As much as I enjoy Amazon’s Alexa speakers, the fact remains that I am tied up in Google’s ecosystem and it just makes more sense for me to buy a smart speaker from Google than Amazon. If you are also someone who is looking to buy either the Google Home or Google Home Mini in India, you’d want to know of Google Assistant commands that work especially well in India. So, here are the 15 best commands curated especially for Indian users:

Best Google Home Commands for Indian Users

• Get Weather Information

Let’s start the list with one of the most basic Google Home commands which let us find out the weather in our area. It’s always good to know the weather status before you leave your home so that you are well prepared. To know the weather status in your area, just say,

“Ok Google, What’s the weather like?”

• Get News from Indian Sources

Another thing that I like to do when I am getting ready to go out is to ask Google Home for current Indian News. Right now Google Home supports a few Indian news sources including Times of India, India Today, NDTV, Gadgets 360, and more. To get the news, all you need to do is say,

“Okay Google, get me news from <news source> ”

For example, if you want news from India today, you will have to say, “Okay Google, get me news from India Today”.

• Get the Latest Traffic Information

Google Home is also good for getting the traffic information before you leave your house. You can either find a traffic around an area (for example, your house) or you can ask Google to tell you how long it will take you to reach your destination. Here are the two commands which can help you do that:

“Okay Google, How is the traffic around <area name>”

“Okay Google, How long it will take me to reach <area name>”

You can even set your home and office location. I have done that so I can directly ask, “Okay Google, how long it will take me to reach office”, and it’s going to tell me exactly that.

• Get Information about Nearest Metro Stations

One of the hidden features of Google Home which not many people know about is that it can tell the nearest metro station to any location. Of course, Only a few cities in India have metro service, so you need to be leaving in one for this feature to be really helpful. Since I live in Delhi, it helps me a lot. To get the nearest metro station to a location, say Nizamuddin, just ask:

“Okay Google, what’s the nearest metro station to Nizamuddin?”

As it is with most of the commands, you can swap Nizamuddin with the place of your choice to get the nearest metro to that location.

• Check Your Flight Status

Google Home also allows you to check the status of your flight. To do that, just ask,

“Okay Google, what is the status of flight number <insert flight number> ”

For example, Okay Google, what is the status of flight number 6E 339.

• Play Indian Songs Using Saavn, Gaana, and More

One of the biggest usages of any smart speaker is for listening to music. I love how can I can call my Google Home from across the room to play, pause, or change the music. The best part about using Google Home as a music streaming device is the fact that it supports all the major Indian music streaming services including, Saavn, Wynk, and Gaana. You can either set any one of these as your default music playing service or specify the service while asking Google to play a song. So you can say,

“Okay Google, Play <song name>” or “Okay Google, Play <song name> on Gaana/Saavn/Wynk”.

The first command will use your default music player while the second command will use the music streaming service that you have specified in the command.

• Get Cricket Scores, Next Game Status, and Game Results

I love the fact that even though Google Home is just a few days old in India, it can already tell me sports scores. As you know, it’s IPL season in India and if you want to remain on top of your game, you can ask Google Home for all the IPL related information. Here are some of the commands that you can use:

“Okay Google, tell me about IPL standings”

“Okay Google, tell me about <team name> last game/upcoming game”

“Okay Google, tell me about upcoming IPL games”

“Okay Google, tell me about <team name> status in IPL”

These are just some of the examples of the questions that you can ask. You can be as specific or as general with your questions as you want. Try it for yourself.

• Get the Movies Which Are Playing in Your Area

Google can also help you plan your outings. For example, you can ask Google about the movies playing in your area and it will give you the list of movies that are in theatre right now. Just say,

“Okay Google, what movies are playing in <place> right now?”

You can also ask for specific movie or cinema.

“Okay Google, where <movie name> is playing tonight?”

“Okay Google, what movies are playing in PVR Cinemas tonight?”

• Find The Opening and Closing Time of Local Attractions

Apart from finding the movies that are playing tonight in your area, you can also ask about closing and opening time of local attractions or restaurants, Just say,

“Okay Google, till when <name of local attraction or restaurant> is open tonight?”

For example, I can say, Okay Google till when Hard Rock Cafe Saket is open tonight.

• Find Nearest Retail Stores

Another Google Home feature which not many people know about is its ability to tell you the location of nearest retail stores. So, I can say,

“Okay Google, where’s the nearest medical store?”

and Google home will tell me the location and the distance of the nearest medical store from my location.

• Get Recipes for Indian Dishes

If you are not in a mood to go out and just want to cook yourself a good dinner, you can ask your Google home for help. Google Home can tell you recipes for Indian dishes. Just say,

“Okay Google, tell me the recipe for butter chicken”

Of course, it doesn’t have to be butter chicken. It can be any dish that you desire. Google Home will not only give you the recipe but also the ingredients that you need to get your cooking on.

• Find your Phone Even if it’s On Silent

Yes, Google home can help you find your phone even when it is on silent. I am embarrassed to admit the number of times that I had to use this feature, but it’s a lot. Whenever I lose my phone and unable to find it, I just say,

“Okay Google, ring my phone”

and voila, my phone starts ringing irrespective of the fact whether it’s on silent or ring.

• Hindi to English and English to Hindi Translation

As we all know Google Translate is probably the best cross-language translation service on the planet, I am happy that Google home comes equipped with all its power. You can easily ask Google home to translate from Hindi to English or English to Hindi. Just say,

“Okay Google, Translate <your line> in <language>”

For example, I can say, Okay Google, translate “I am going home” in Hindi, and it will do just that.

• Controlling Smart Lights

Google home also allows users to control smart lights and other smart home appliances. While smart home appliances are not very popular in India, the smart lights are gaining popularity. If you are using smart lights from companies like Philips, TP-Links, Syska or any other Google Home supported smart light. You can use commands to switch off or switch on the lights, change color and much more. Here are some of the commands,

“Okay Google, switch off kitchen lights” or “Okay Google, switch on the bedroom lights, or “Okay Google, turn the desk light color to blue“.

Basically, you can use any commands that can control your smart lights.

• Get interesting Facts about India

The last point on our list is a fun one. If you want to learn some interesting facts about our country, you can ask Google Home for that. I can bet you that 9 out of 10 times it will be something that you didn’t know before.

Just say, “Okay Google, tell me something interesting about India” and it will do that.

SEE ALSO: JioFi JMR815 Review: A Great Portable Router for All Your Traveling Needs

Best India Specific Google Home Commands

That ends the list of 15 best Google Home commands that you can use to get the most out of your Google Home in India. I love my Google Home and if you are on the fence whether you should buy this device or not, just buy it right now. If you have already bought one, use these commands and let us know how much you love your Google Home by writing in the comments section below.