India was tipped to launch its own app marketplace as a substitute for Google Play Store and Apple App Store, as part of a broader government push for self-sufficiency.
News channel ET Now stated the country was planning a marketplace free of the typical 30 per cent fees Google and Apple charge developers, and was considering mandating installation on Android smartphones, which reportedly hold a 97 per cent share of the sector in India.
The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has been tasked with producing the Indian store, ET Now explained. The work would build on the AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge unveiled by the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July, a scheme supporting app creation by Indian start-ups.
India’s government also reportedly mulled widening its Mobile Seva Appstore, which houses a range of state services covering Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Java.
In recent years, the country has focused on boosting home-grown industries, with production of smartphones a key element in a broader Make in India initiative.
But India may also be seeking greater control over the apps on offer: earlier this year it banned hundreds of services from Chinese developers citing national security concerns.
