The Aatma Nirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge, which was launched earlier this month, has received a total of 6,940 entries in eight categories till July 26, 2020. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4, the objective was to support and build a strong ecosystem for Indian apps. The applications received are from all over the country, including remote and small towns.
Of the 6,940 entries received, 3,939 are from individuals and remaining 3,001 are from organisations and companies. Of those received from individuals, around 1,757 applications are ready to use and the remaining 2,182 are under development. On the other hand, of the apps submitted by organisations, 1,742 apps have already been deployed and the remaining 1,259 are under development.
Ministry of Electronics and IT also gave the category-wise break-up, which included 1,142 app entries filed under Business, 901 under Health and Wellness, 1,062 under e-Learning, 1,155 under Social Networking, 326 under Games, 662 under Office and Work from Home, 237 under News and 320 under Entertainment. Around 1,135 Apps have been submitted under the Other category. Around 271 of these apps have more than 100,000 downloads, with 89 apps boasting million-plus downloads.
"This shows the talent that exists in our country and this App Innovation Challenge is the right opportunity for Indian Tech Developers, Entrepreneurs and companies to build for India at a scale, that is unparalleled anywhere in the world. The true challenge will be to identify the apps that are robust, scalable, secure with an easy to use interface and give users an experience that will make them come back to the app. Screening committees have already began scrutinising the apps on various parameters. Just the top 3 companies with maximum downloads of apps, this year have a total market cap of almost $2 trillion and are growing very fast," the ministry stated.
The Aatma Nirbhar Bharat App ecosystem has the potential to unlock value for the Indian tech start-ups and help them get a pie of the multi-trillion-dollar App Economy.
This App Innovation Challenge included the promotion of existing apps as well as the development of new apps. Categorised into two tracks, the Track 1 Innovation Challenge included identifying the best Indian Apps that are already being used by citizens and have the potential to scale and become world-class apps in their respective categories. To be completed in a month, this Innovation Challenge with various cash awards and incentives for apps featuring on Leader Boards seeks to create an ecosystem where Indian entrepreneurs and start-ups are incentivised to ideate, incubate, build, nurture and sustain technology solutions to serve Indian citizens as well as their world. The mantra is to Make in India for India and the world. Subsequent to this App Innovation Challenge, government will also launch Track 2 of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge that will seek to identify Indian start-ups, entrepreneurs, companies and encourage them with ideation, incubation, prototyping and roll out of applications. Although the last date for the submission of entries was July 18, the government had extended the submission date to July 26, 2020.
Meity-NITI had launched the Digital India Aatma Nirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge launched days after the government banned 59 Chinese apps in June this year.
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