PM Modi announces App Innovation Challenge to market Indian platforms

PM Modi announces App Innovation Challenge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the new Digital Indian AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge aimed toward improving the Indian app ecosystem. The project was launched by the Ministry of Electronics and knowledge Technology (MeitY) in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission and government think-tank Niti Aayog.

PM Modi announces App Innovation Challenge

The project aims to market existing Indian apps and also the event of the latest apps. the govt says it'll first identify the “best Indian apps" that citizens are using already and have the potential to scale and become world-class apps in their respective categories, in Track 1 of the challenge. Track 2 of the challenge will identify companies and entrepreneurs who can build apps for the country. The second track will run longer than the primary.

Further, the government’s focus seems to be to seek out a replacement for the 59 Chinese apps that were recently banned within the country. the primary track of the challenge is being launched in eight categories, which incorporates Office Productivity & Work from Home, Social Networking, E-Learning, Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Business including Agritech and Fintech, News and Games.

The innovation challenge is often accessed through the MyGov platform and can begin from Independence Day. Companies will need to submit their entries by July 18 through a web submission process. the govt will appoint a jury for every of the tracks, which can include personnel from the private sector and academia to guage the entries.

Post evaluation, these apps are going to be given awards and features on “leaderboards for information of citizens". the govt has allocated ₹20 lakh, ₹15 lakh, and ₹10 lakh for the primary, second and third-placed apps in each category. There can also be sub-categories, where winners will get ₹5 lakh, ₹3 lakh, and ₹2 lakh for first, second and third position, respectively.

The government says it'll also adopt suitable apps and “guide them to maturity", listing them on government marketplace (GeM). simple use, robustness, security, and scalability are a number of the key evaluation criteria.

While the govt hasn’t explicitly said so, the initiative seems to be an extension of the sooner challenge announced to create India’s own video apps. It could also spell trouble for the 59 Chinese apps that were banned, many of which wall within the categories the govt is watching here.