The IT revolution had taken place in India a long time back. It saw the rise of many MNCs such as Wipro, Infosys and TCS. There is a huge scope of growth in technological fields in India because the demand is high. With the growing access to the internet even in rural areas, the need for applications is increasing. Apps provide an easy alternative to almost everything these days. Books, instruments, calculators, everything is turning redundant. The need to step out of the house to purchase, or remove cash from the ATM is also history. Everything is turning digital today.
A big issue that we were facing is the less number of Indian apps on Playstore (Android) and Appstore (iOS). Most of the apps were made by foreign companies, predominantly Chinese which made Indian companies lose a lot of business but more importantly was perceived as a major security risk by the Government of India. To counter this threat, push the Make in India initiative and compete with China is all spheres due to growing geographical tensions, the government banned many Chinese apps and started incentivising app-based startups. In the past 12 months itself, we have seen many Indian apps as alternatives to the ones we initially used, thus raising the questions: Why did we not encourage this initiative before?
Anyway, the past is the past. Looking at the bright future of Indian digital businesses, these are some of the top Indian apps in their segments.
1. Hindi Keyboard App
It was almost the whole nation who was using the google Indic keyboard for typing in their regional languages. And honestly, why not? There was no competition in those days and not much awareness. But all this is changing rapidly. With growing voices on privacy infringement by Google, people started shifting to a set of keyboards that has made the country proud. Bharat keyboard’s Hindi keyboard app is now the most widely used Hindi typing software in the world. Similarly, Bharat keyboard has a range of other keyboards, including malayalam, Bangla and Marathi.
The fact that it is Indian-made is not the factor pushing its growth. But the multifunctionality and reliability of this keyboard is what is propelling it through the Playstore rankings. To put in simple words – You can type in Hindi easily along with making your conversations super fun with the app’s features. The Hinglish typing option is very popular, which allows users to type with English letters and conversion to Hindi is done instantly. I no longer have to go through the varnamala to write each letter since I didn’t focus well in my 2nd grade Hindi class. For long messages, I use the Speech-to-text feature due to which I don’t even have to move my fingers.
The keyboard has hundreds of sticker packs and different ways to create stickers. You can make avatars and GIFs, reply with stickers and send bigger emojis. The Hindi keyboard comes with many jokes, shayari and quotes so that you can send brilliant messages to your contacts without having to think hard on your words. These messages will instantly make an impact in your groups.
Other features, include a storage of copied messages for an hour, quick-access to frequently used messages, Covid-19 resources which is a very important and life-saving feature from Bharat keyboards; Mood analyzer, emoji suggestions and personalizations. The keyboard can be adjusted and made to look the way you want. Add background images or ready-made themes, to make your keyboard look beautiful. It is without any arguments, the best Hindi typing keyboard on Playstore.
2. Ludo King
Ludo King is nothing but a success story in gaming apps. Imagine making an app that the whole world is playing. That is Ludo king for you. Bringing a popular childhood board game to the digital space, Ludo king was an instant hit. Once it made its way into the trending page of twitter, people were quick to download it and ever since has been one of the most played games on Playstore. The app’s simplicity and features like local and online multiplayer has made it popular. You can chat whilst in game which makes it a lot of fun with friends.
If an app is getting 8 million reviews and have a rating more than 4, you can imagine its greatness and popularity.
3. StepSetGo
Stuck at home with no motivation to start exercising? What if I tell you that you will be rewarded if you just start walking. That’s right. Walk, gain points and get your favourite products, this is the idea behind StepSetGo. You can compete with your friends or just go on a stroll, the app will always be looking at your movement, in a good way of course. You get free products or special discounts from your SSG points. The app was also praised by PM Narendra Modi to make fitness fun and rewarding.
4. Aarogya Setu
It is possible you might want to skip this one, but hear us out. For a country as big as India, contact tracing was a humongous task. Further, there was a need for a common portal where reliable and latest information regarding rules and regulations of the current time were available. Rumours started making rounds and it was necessary to bust them, this app did it all.
Very important to know how your area stands with respect to Covid cases, it might look to us as a privacy infringement, but it is not. The vaccination portal – Cowin is now linked to Aarogya Setu, so you can see that installing the app beforehand helped you get vaccine certificates and updates on time. Since the pandemic is far from over, it is a great source of reliable information and latest updates from the government.
5. JioMart
To compete with foreign owned companies and with already existing trust amongst Indians, Reliance launched JioMart, an online grocery store. Having used the services myself, I can guarantee how flawless the entire process is. Launched before the pandemic, JioMart gained a lot of popularity during these times since people feared to go out but we cannot live without a regular supply of groceries. If you had a JIO SIM, you also received certain discounts on products. JioMart is now expanding its business and including more products. As it does this, they have a lot of discounts, so make sure you check them out.
6. Paytm
One of the earliest e-wallets in India and surely the first popular Indian digital payments app, Paytm is another success story. What started as a digital wallet now gives services in UPI, digital banks and insurances. They have their own card and the highest retail reach in India. Although Google and Amazon Pay exist, Paytm continues to gain customers and in fact outperforms the aforementioned apps. Made and owned completely by Indians, Paytm for me is the most reliable payment app in India.
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