Modi government is encouraging the use of Indian apps to compete with US technology

Photo: BH

The Modi government is encouraging the use of locally developed apps in India, as opposed to those from multinational companies such as Google Maps, WhatsApp and Microsoft. Three cabinet ministers have recently taken part in the promotion of domestic products. This is being considered the strongest step to support "Made in India" products amid ongoing trade tensions with the United States. Reuters News

The US imposed a 50 percent tariff on Indian imports in August. Since then, Narendra Modi has been pushing for the use of indigenous, or made-in-India, products. Despite public calls from industry groups to support domestic products, last month he called for a boycott of everyday goods imported directly from abroad.

As part of this initiative, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav gave a media presentation on the highway project this week. The presentation used the local app 'Zoho' instead of Microsoft's PowerPoint. 'Maps India' was used instead of Google Maps for the maps. Earlier, in a separate video, the minister encouraged citizens to use Zoho software. The video has received 6.2 million views on social media.

India is the largest market for US multinational brands. Many government and private offices in the country use Microsoft products, Google Maps helps, and WhatsApp has more than 500 million users.

However, Zoho's messaging app Aarti has suddenly become popular. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan have participated in the promotion of the domestic app. In a post on social media, Piyush Goyal wrote, "I am very proud to be with Aarti."

According to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, the app was downloaded more than 400,000 times last month. On September 26, the number of daily active users of the app crossed 100,000, a 100 percent increase in a single day.

However, experts believe that replacing international brands will not be easy for Indian companies, as their financial strength and market expansion are limited. According to Dilip Cherian, a public relations expert in India, “government support alone is not enough. For a domestic company to succeed, it needs unique features, sufficient funding and protection against international surveillance.”