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Mukesh Ambani leapfrogs Warren Buffet to become the fifth richest person

By
Varun Aithal
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Mukesh Ambani, Mukesh Ambani, fifth richest person - Point2Note
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, (REUTERS)

Mukesh Ambani has been making headlines after his firm, Reliance Jio, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), established ties with giant companies like Facebook, Qualcomm, Google and many others. The recent investment contributed to his net worth and made him the fifth richest person in the world.

Mukesh Ambani surpassed Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and currently sits in the fifth position with a net worth of $80.5 billion. Ambani is just $4.5 billion behind Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who occupies the fourth spot. Despite the pandemic striking the globe, Mukesh Ambani has enjoyed the riches, with his net worth increasing with the recent investments.

The eminent businessman of the country, Mukesh Ambani, broke into the top 10 list in June. Within a few weeks of July, Ambani surpassed Warren Buffet, Steve Ballmer and Elon Musk to gain the current position. RIL share hit the new record when it reached Rs 2010 per share on the Bombay Stock Exchange on July 22. The surge alone helped Ambani to raise his net worth by $1.2 billion.

On the other hand, Tesla’s founder, Elon Musk, borrowed the fifth place from Mukesh Ambani for a while when Tesla’s hit new heights. However, the subsequent losses on the same day resulted in him falling to the 10th position in the top 10 billionaires list.

When asked about his success, Mukesh Ambani said:

“I have fulfilled my promise to the shareholders by making Reliance net debt-free much before our original schedule of March 31 2021”

He also said that the Reliance Group of Industries is in its “golden decade” with more ambitious goals to success. He also attributed his success to his team, which is in the very DNA of Reliance.

During Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting earlier this month, Ambani said

The company will “induct global partners and investors in Reliance Retail in the next few quarters.”

Soon after, the news of Amazon reportedly in talks with Reliance Retail came to the forefront. Both the parties refused to comment at the moment.

The news is a breakthrough from a different standpoint as the top ten list usually consisted of Americans or Britishers. He broke the norm and became the only Asian in the top 10 billionaires of the world. The second richest Asian, Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, stands 18th in the list of billionaires.

As of date, Jeff Bezos bags the top position with a net worth of $178.6 B. He is followed by Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, with a net worth of $112.7 B. The third place is occupied by luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s chief Bernard with a net worth of $112.1 B.

Despite many businesses facing a setback due to the pandemic and are unable to bear the brunt, Mukesh Ambani’s decision making has been top-notch for Reliance Industries Ltd. His appropriate investments have lifted his stature and made him the fifth richest man across the globe.

Online food delivery business faces a fundamental shift

By
Niharika Mahendra
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Online Food Delivery - Point2Note
Online Food Delivery

Having quality food at your doorstep within 30 minutes using an app today is nothing less than a blessing that a person can enjoy after a busy working day. As people are constantly searching for comfort and convenience, the food industry had left no stone unturned when it came in correlation with changes in the country’s social, economic, and demographic factors during COVID-19. Online food delivery service has many benefits such as it serves fresh food at the customer’s doorstep, offering different payment choices and cashback deals. Also, no one can ignore the enticing discounts that show up on their smartphone device.

Popular food giants such as Swiggy, Zomato, Faasos, Dominos and Food Panda grab the present food market. The world is currently seeing the phenomenal growth in online food delivery services with the emergence of technological developments in the food delivery business.

According to FatBit,

“The global food ordering and delivery market is valued at $95 billion and is expected to grow further at a CAGR of 9.8% by 2026.”

With the constant deluge of food experts and accelerated urbanization of the market, the online food delivery and eatery section are thriving at a rankling rate at present. A growing number of mobile phones and food delivery apps are contributing to this scenario.

Technology makes its way in every industry. Food tech is the trending topic and after technology startups in the e-commerce sectors have made their mark, the ever-hungry businessmen are now looking to satiate others’ appetites. Food tech is a huge industry, and online food delivery startups are only a part of it.

With demand for online food delivery is rising quicker than ever, food retailers have a unique chance to raise profit margins and attract consumers. The challenge would be to match consumer demand for quick delivery with the complexities of the logistics and costs needed to satisfy such requirements.

According to Business Wire,

“The online food delivery market in India is expected to expand at compound annual growth rates of ~30.55% during the 2020-2024 period.”

The pattern of online food ordering is hugely influenced during pandemic. Online food giants Zomato and Swiggy have implemented a few changes in their operations. Apart from ordering food delicacies, Swiggy and Zomato are also delivering groceries. By collaborating with neighborhood stores and distribution centers, they have made the purchase and home delivery of groceries readily available.

Another fantastic change that these food giants will implement is the delivery of food via drones. Yes, you read that right. Zomato and Swiggy have got the permit to test drone delivery. This can be seen as one of the most revolutionary changes in the food sector. Owing to these changes, it is a peak-time for brands in the online food ordering and delivery business to make the best possible use of these technological advancements. 

The food industry has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years. Amid the developments in the food delivery service sector, more than half of all customer orders are delivered directly from apps or websites of the restaurants. Restaurants and other food businesses now manage digital ordering and food distribution in different ways.

Zoom unveils pre-configured Zoom for Home devices

By
Debamrita Ghosh
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Zoom for Home - Point2Note
  Image source: Techrepublic

At the onset of the countrywide lockdown, Zoom had established itself as a leader in the video conferencing market. Up from 10 million users at the end of 2019, this platform pulled 200 million daily users since the lockdown in March 2020.

“Overnight, we signed on so many users, we tripled our capacity, offered K-12 schools free services, it was very exciting,” – Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom

With increased usage, Zoom declared that they’re rolling in an all-in-one appliance set to upgrade communications experience. In the same month, Zoom had stated their decision to add over 100 video calling features to ramp up security precautions. The first of the Zoom for Home devices, the new hardware product, will incorporate several Zoom software enhancements. It’s said to share multiple similarities with Amazon’s Echo Show, Google’s Nest Hub, and other video chat devices.More specifically, the Zoom for Home – DTEN ME is a touchscreen device with a pretty simple user interface. An array of eight noise-reducing microphones and three smart cameras designed for high resolution video are already built-in. The touch display on its 27-inch (69 cm) screen is super-responsive, acting as a second monitor for a laptop. But Zoom will not be responsible for building the hardware. Instead, Zoom’s partner DTEN will take on this task. Based in San Jose, DTEN is a video conferencing appliance manufacturing company.

You can use the Zoom for Home – DTEN ME for not only one-touch video calling but also smooth content sharing. Additionally, it will provide quick access to your contacts and whiteboards. For those using Zoom Phone and Zoom Meetings, logging in to this device will be as easy as pie!

Primarily a computer-sized tablet, Zoom for Home – DTEN ME, uses ultrasonic pairing to link to your laptop or phone. This technique works like Bluetooth, though it doesn’t send out any radio signal. Rather, the ultrasonic pairing makes the device send out an 18-22 kHz sound that most people cannot hear.

The setup isn’t as complicated as one might expect. All you have to do is utilize a Zoom user account for logging in to a device that’s compatible with Zoom for Home devices. Then, open a website on your phone or laptop and enter a sharing key or pairing code.

Once you launch the interface, touch any function you want to start. These functions include accessing your contacts, making phone calls, and joining meetings. If users want to make and receive phone calls, they’ll require a Zoom Phone license.

The content sharing options available on this video-enabled device let teams collaborate virtually, without any difficulty. Educators can even use the Whiteboard function enhanced with high-resolution video and audio. This facility helps them to start their classes in a moment.

“Zoom for Home is an initiative from Zoom that allows any Zoom user to deploy a personal collaboration device for their video meetings, phone calls, interactive whiteboard annotation — all the good stuff that you want to do on Zoom, you can do with a dedicated purpose-built device,” Jeff Smith, Head of Zoom Rooms told TechCrunch

To display upcoming virtual meetings in a sidebar, the user must sync the calendar with the Zoom for Home – DTEN ME. A simple click on the ‘Start’ button next to one of the meetings, and the device will connect you instantly.

zoom for home devices
Source: Zoom.us

As per managing and controlling hardware, handling employees from a remote workspace is not an easy job. But the end-user can manage Zoom for Home devices by herself or himself, with the help of user settings. Alternatively, IT administrators will be able to update these devices remotely via the Admin Portal.

All these features, bundled together into the product, will cost $599. This device will be available in August this year.

A dynamic functionality and seamless operations make Zoom for Home devices deliver a professional interactive experience. By doing so, these devices allow for improved productivity while working from home.

Emerging media and entertainment trends ruling our lives

By
Shivani Jha
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Emerging media and entertainment trends - Point2Note
Emerging media and entertainment trends

It’s been a few months since the COVID-19 wave hit the world. We all have experienced how it feels locked down in our homes, work from home scenarios, managing home responsibilities and adjusting to a new normal world. While some of us find it frustrating, some are grateful that we now have multiple ways to escape boredom and stress. Keeping up to speed with emerging media and entertainment trends is one of them.

No doubt, we all miss movie theaters, malls, and the full flushed crowd on every Friday. However, now, the digital platforms like Amazon and Netflix are making sure that we never lose our favorite movies and our interests are backed up with tons of options to relive those experiences. These OTT platforms ensure that their content should offer people a sense of peace, relaxation, and entertainment at the same time.

According to KPMG the projected ‘digital billion’ trajectory of India is set to accelerate significantly by virtue of the lock-down. This is not just due to the addition of new users but also because of the increasing comfort and confidence of existing digital citizenry.

“Impactful communications play a critical role in the global effort to limit the spread of coronavirus and its impact on society. Our industry has shown how creativity can help encourage people to stay at home, adopt healthy behaviors, protect lives and raise morale” — Mark Read, Chief Executive Officer, WPP

Virtual shows and music concerts have been on the entertainment industries’ radars for a few years, but now, it has highly accelerated due to these uncertain times. Artists have found their own space for entertaining their thousands of fans at the same time. Instagram lives streams are one of those spaces. In these quarantine times, fans and artists both came together and created fun hashtags like “#togetherathome” and “#quarantine concerts”. 

Since the M&E industry falls under essential services, news channels and media never really felt the lockdown hitting them with uncertainty. In fact, they are the only sources of correct information left for us to consume information daily. They got the much-needed push with a high amount of viewership, and people hooked to look for news and developments related to COVID-19.

The new flow of knowledge and the need for escapism during these times go hand in hand among viewers sitting at home. This is the only reason why the demand for content is anticipated to be high, specifically real content. 

“The search for reliable and accurate information related to the pandemic has driven trust in news sources to an all-time high with traditional media seeing the biggest gain. Media trust overall is still damaged by low confidence in social media, with 65% of people worried about the spread of fake news. People want trustworthy information from sources with credentials, including scientists, medical doctors and healthcare professionals.” Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman quoted.

The live-streaming platform is an eye-opening media and entertainment trend in 2020. From Zoom lectures to Twitch concerts and entirely virtual book launches, people are watching more live streaming than ever. Twitch — the world’s leading live-streaming platform for gamers — saw maximum growth in terms of sheer hours, jumping 50 percent between March and April (number of hours watched) total up to 1.645 billion hours watched per month.

While the current situation allows people to choose between “killing time” or “using time”. Some are scrutinizing their creative sides on social media platforms in the form of new media and entertainment trends. According to a GlobalWebIndex report, 58% of millennials (aged 24-37) are busy listening to podcasts, reading more valuable content, and 62% GEN Z (aged 16-23) are busy producing content on YouTube and Instagram. From streaming music to producing COVID-19 anthem raps, people are hailing together even in social distancing.

Technology has been a catalyst in the media and entertainment world for a few decades. This new normal is another leap for media and other digital platforms. Our “leisure time” is either going to be invested or consumed in the pre-packaged form of entertainment. As we move from response to the recovery phase of COVID-19, it would be interesting to see how the M&E industry derives new strategies to be more successful.

How women in UFC fight to equality

By
Abhimanyu Hazarika
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Women In UFC - Point 2 Note
Women In UFC

Last year, the US women’s soccer team started a much-needed debate on the pay gap between the genders in sports, specifically in international tournaments. Multiple arguments from stakeholders, fans, and policymakers came to the fore. These ranged from broadcasters’ earnings determining pay and progressive causes for equality. There was an acknowledgment that women ought to be able to fight for equality in pay and perks. All things said and done, the prize money and revenue pool for major men’s sporting tournaments still dwarf that of today’s women’s games. However for Women in UFC its a different ball game.

Ultimate Fighting Championship – which has women, although fewer compared to men, headlining the main-events of flagship shows, or Pay-Per-View (PPV) events as they are commonly referred. It has been observed that in the past few years, especially in the last decade, a few women have shown what it takes to earn equal if not more pay than their fellow male competitors, even with limited match-ups. In doing so, they have enabled discussion on feasible means of reducing the pay-gap without disturbing the otherwise skewed revenue-sharing model. 

While admittedly favoring fighters who ‘finish’ (win by knockout or submission) their matches rather than slog it out over a points decision. The UFC has allowed the likes of (now retired) Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes, and Holly Holm to earn 6-7 figure sums.

Impressively, their likes are also the main/co-main card in PPVs, meaning theirs is the final match on the day and, as a result, the most anticipated and highest billed. This enabled them to fight for equality, for a larger if not an equal slice of the pie.   

Back in 2015, Ronda Rousey said-

“I think how much you get paid should have something to do with how much you bring in. I’m the highest paid fighter not because [the promoters] … wanted to do something nice for the ladies. They do it because I bring in the highest numbers. They do it because I make them the most money. I think the money that they make should be proportionate to the money that they bring in.” 

One way the UFC model has worked because bouts for both men and women in UFC can be scheduled on the same day/event, meaning the audience who pays or sits through the game watches most of the fights on the card. Popular male superstars can help those on the under-card (matches to start the event) be better paid than usual initially, till the female fighter draws enough firepower to main event a show and helps new female fighters on the under-card earn. This effective cross-subsidization of sorts has helped fine-tune a pool of well-paid female talent capable of ‘finishing’ matches as mentioned while assisting them to eventually be headline performers for future events. For her most dominant performance against Felicia Spencer, Amanda Nunes earned upwards of 450,000 dollars, while earning less than half of that in 2016 for defeating Ronda Rousey (who made upwards of 3 million dollars that fight). 

Instances of this in other sports have yielded a possible way for the future. Back in March 2016, the Indian eves’ T20 cricket match against the West Indies eves was held right before India vs Australia Men’s T20 and had decent crowds turn up as well as viewership. 

Smriti Mandhana, a rising star in Indian women’s cricket echoed similar views when she said, 

“We need to understand that the revenue we get is through men’s cricket. The day women’s cricket starts earning revenue, I will be the first person to say that we need the same thing. But right now, we can’t say that.” 

In any case, there is a clear debate on what is needed to directly address the pay gap by putting in place statutory commitments or bringing the level of competition and eyeballs up in the women’s sports arena.

Jio’s funding streak continues: Qualcomm next in line after Facebook and Intel

By
Farogh Ahsan
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Jio's Funding Streak - Point 2 Note
Image Source: Scroll.in

Jio Platforms has seen investments from some of the world’s biggest companies in the last three months. Jio Platforms comprises India’s biggest telecom enterprise – Jio Infocomm, as well as apps related to news, movies, and music. Qualcomm, a California-based wireless technology company, is the latest addition to the list of investors contributing to Jio’s funding. Its technology and products are used worldwide in different wireless devices, including mobile phones. The company is investing Rs 730 crores for a 0.15% stake in return.

“Qualcomm has been a valued partner for several years, and we have a shared vision of connecting everything by building a robust and secure wireless and digital network and extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone in India.” – said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, and MD of Reliance Industries

Qualcomm’s Jio funding news is announced within weeks of partnership with Facebook and Intel. These three partnerships, along with the association with Google, are being tipped as the biggest strategic alliances that any company has been able to forge in recent years.

With this, Reliance has now sold more than 25% stakes in Jio Platforms. At the same time, Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Ltd. has raised more than 1.52 lakh crores, which is more than the funds raised by a single company anywhere in the world. What’s more surprising is that this investment has come during a period of global lockdown.

Qualcomm has more than 140,000 patents and related applications registered in its name. It has spent over $60 billion in R&D in the last three decades or so. Qualcomm Ventures, the company’s investment wing, has financially supported disruptive ideas in the field of IoT, 5G, enterprise, networking, AI, and automotive, amongst others. So, its association with RIL doesn’t come as a huge surprise and has the promise of completely changing the telecommunication landscape of the country.

“With our shared goal of extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone and everything, we anticipate Jio Platforms will deliver a new set of services and experiences to Indian consumers. With unmatched speeds and emerging use cases, 5G is expected to transform every industry in the coming years. As an enabler and investor with a longstanding presence in India, we look forward to playing a role in Jio’s vision to further revolutionize India’s digital economy.” – said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Inc.

Facebook started this investment spree in Jio Platforms by committing Rs 43,574 crores for a 9.99% stake. Other companies that followed suit include KKR, Intel, Vista Equity Partners, Saudi Arab PIF, Silver Lake, Mubadala, General Atlantic, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Google. 

The Jio-Qualcomm deal is subject to customary regulatory approvals in India. If things go well, the investment has the power to support Indian telecom sector with advanced 5G infrastructure and services. 

The future of retail is online with digitized shopping experience

By
Chumki Sen
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Future of retail - Point 2 Note
  Future of retail

When COVID-19 hit India and the sudden lockdown was announced, it looked as if the future of retail would go under dark. While this is true in the case of small vendors or local shopkeepers, it gave a decent kick to the e-commerce industry and changed the perception of buyers.

“We are seeing customers sticking to ordering online even after easing in lockdown restrictions.” – Chandan Khaitan, Walmart India Chief Digital Officer

The notion of online shopping has taken over the idea of buying products from a retail store completely. The e-commerce industry has diversified ways to deal with consumer’s requests with major investment in personalized shopping experience as per their choices. On the other hand, e-commerce brands are making sure that their consumers have a faster and more convenient shopping experience. It’s different for the retailers because their businesses still need to keep up with the new form of change in the shopping industry. It’s becoming harder for them to adapt to the fact the physical stores are no longer at the center of the consumer market as buyers are drawn to engage more with the brands and their digital stores so that it will be tough for the future of retail.

“Growth will be slow initially, but ramp up quickly. Smaller retailers will start to close, reducing consumer options and driving more people online.” – Marc Poulin, former CEO, SOBEYS

When it comes to e-commerce and online shopping, digital platforms and latest technology adds value to personalized shopping experience. Customers are more likely to make purchases with brands that quickly recognize their choices and provide them with offers and recommendations that are entirely personalized.

Another fact adds up to the future of retail is increase in the number of mobile phone users. As majority of online orders are placed from mobile, e-commerce companies are investing more into a more robust and mobile-friendly user experience. The online stores and websites are making themselves available for mobile devices and putting efforts into making more optimized, user-friendly designs within their sites and mobile applications.

Design and visual graphics are going to be the best acquaintances for the future of retail. Recent analysis shows that the top 10% of products ranked by Amazon sales had an average number of 4 images per product in the product pages, which is falling short on the expectations. Consumers want more images and videos on each product page to have a hands-on visual experience every time before making a bargain. On top of that, impulse purchasing (almost 42% millennials have admitted to making at least one impulse buy each year) will still be ruling over retails, years from now.

As the trend of online shopping goes viral, so are the possibilities of online stores for retail. User-based personalized experience and instant gratification will play a significant role in the upcoming future of e-commerce.

Remote working applications benefits: Changing the way we connect

By
Angelo Solomon
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Remote working - Point 2 Note
Working from Home

We all have been working from home for a long time and could never imagine going so far if technology and remote working applications were not there. With a sudden shift of our daily schedule due to COVID-19, employees find themselves up to speed with all the facilities required to work remotely in the quickest possible time.

“We are all navigating this new normal together. As we lock arms virtually and try to help one another in the ways we can, our vast world suddenly feels a little smaller and a lot more connected. And for that, we are grateful.” – Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell

Today, there are various virtual platforms available such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom, Asana, and others to simplify your job and help make the workplace go virtual. These tools have various benefits from instant messaging to file sharing, voice and video calls, recording and screen sharing. The use of Microsoft Teams meeting increased at an exponential rate as the world transitioned to work from home. People find a human connection through video effective and with additional features of custom backgrounds, raise hand feature, end a meeting with ‘click of a button’ and many more, the world finds itself connecting in a new way. Companies are also doing their best to implement secured tools, as data security remains their top priority.

We are heading towards alternative ideas, innovation, and new technologies that can help us continue our work from the comfort of our home, making our job and communication easier. It helps a person to work outside a usual office environment. Studies show that both employers and employees consider this as an excellent option.

Corporates are heavily dependent on remote applications for their work, eventually giving them a chance to choose from multiple tools and applications, which will help the employees to have good work experience.

“There will be interruptions, and I don’t know when they will occur, and I don’t how deep they will occur, I do know they will occur from time to time, and I also know that we’ll come out better on the other end” – Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

This new way of virtual working is on the rise and has helped many employees with work flexibility. Many companies continue to offer a flexible schedule, which allows them to choose a time in which they find themselves more productive. Employees have also witnessed that working from home saves a lot of money, especially those who didn’t have any transportation facility. They can use this money to spend on making a home office, which is needed for an ideal workable space.

Remote working applications can be cost-effective, scalable and convenient. It also maintains the critical aspect of face to face interactions through video conferencing. However, it’s important to understand that while creating a digital workspace, you need the right IT infrastructure in place for businesses to succeed now and in the future.

Chingari App: The Indian wildfire post TikTok ban

By
Abhimanyu Hazarika
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post tiktok ban - Point 2 Note
Chingari app post tiktok ban

Armed with nothing but a smartphone and pocket-friendly data plans, TikTok users made it big and earned huge money by posting 15-second videos of varying content online. Post TikTok ban, it appeared that their means of livelihood would come to a halt.

However, just 2 days into the ban, Chingari, India’s most popular alternative to TikTok emerged. With over 1.1 crore downloads, the homegrown app stood out for its fresh user interface including many other features. Chingari app allows a user to connect with new users and viewers by sharing its content. Its features also include access to trendy and entertainment news, quotes, status videos for WhatsApp, and many more.


Its revenue model also differs from that of the erstwhile available Chinese app. In TikTok, content creator’s material would be monetized, whereas Chingari’s payments are based on the views a video gets. This gives the power back to the user than ad agencies, like Youtube, does for more enterprise/globally focused creators based on how viral a video becomes. This works because for each video uploaded by a user on the Chingari app, the accumulated points set against views can be redeemed for money.

At a time of border conflicts and global economic downswing and post TikTok ban, the co-founder’s upbeat voice in terms of getting capital and benefiting Indian content creators is encouraging. On arranging funds for Chingari, Chief Product Officer, Sumit Ghosh, says,

“No Chinese money, no Chinese companies’ money … no Chinese direct or indirect money in Chingari ever. Not now, not ever,” he said, adding, “It will be the global (venture capitals), operating out of U.S. or U.K. – there’s a lot of global money available so definitely, no Chinese money“.

Currently, the app is preparing to close a $10 million Series, a funding round to meet the requirements for the manifold growth in downloads post TikTok ban. In a interview with IANS and elaborating in a statement, co-founder Biswatma Nayak said,

“Since the word spread that Indians now have a homegrown and more entertaining alternative to TikTok, we have been recording traffic beyond expectations on our app.”

With more and more users diverting to Chingari, the two masterminds are working round the clock to improve the user experience of the app. They are also having crucial discussions to get good investor(s) on board so as to scale up their free-of-cost social platform.

Usually, Indian applications have had to compete hard with established foreign giants to make an impact across different sectors. With Chingari, this is set to change as content is driven successfully by homegrown creators already used to such apps, especially in the era post TikTok ban. Both parties, participants, and monetizing platforms can make a windfall given our users growing thirst for short videos.

PM Modi’s app innovation challenge: Step towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat

By
Nikita Garg
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0
PM Modi’s app innovation challenge - Point2Note
PM Modi’s app innovation challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought technology to the forefront of our lives. Right from office tools, entertainment to online education, digital tools are becoming the mainstay of how we operate and live our lives even more so than before. App downloads have grown by 20.3% as compared to last year, and Indians have accounted for more than 5bn downloads out of the 33.6bn app downloads in Q1 of 2020.
When we look at the data, Indian tech developers do not rank anywhere on the leader board of the top countries developing apps. With Facebook and Google, ByteDance, the Chinese internet company which developed the now banned video-sharing social network, Tik Tok, is amongst the top 3 companies worldwide. However, the Indian Government has found enormous underlying opportunity and potential in the developers. Amidst this sharp intake in the usage of online/digital tools, PM Modi has announced the new Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge. This project is launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission– Niti Ayog.

“AatmaNirbhar Bharat is a launchpad for fostering entrepreneurship, nurturing innovation and creation of an ecosystem for rural-urban symbiotic development” –
VP, M Venkaiah Naidu

The press releases related to the challenge outlines that this program will be run in 2 tracks. Track 1 will focus on identifying the best Indian apps that are already being used in the market and have the potential to scale in 8 broad categories namely office productivity & work from home, social networking, e-Learning, entertainment, health & wellness, business including Agritech and Fintech, news and games.

Track 1 will promote existing tech entrepreneurs who have working prototypes of their apps live in the ecosystem to give them the needed support to scale up and potentially become world-class apps. In track 1, cash awards will be awarded to the top 3 winners in each of the categories. The cash awards are planned as follows; Rs. 24L for the 1st place followed by Rs. 15L & Rs. 10L for 2nd and 3rd place respectively. In addition to these, the evaluators might create sub-categories in each of the broad categories.

Track 2 will seek to “identify Indian start-ups/entrepreneurs/companies and encourage them with ideation, incubation, prototyping, and roll out of applications.” Track 2 will gain momentum in a couple of months and we will learn more about it with time. This initiative is a welcome move to manifest the vision PM Modi had when he announced the need of AatmaNirbhar Bharat in early May with COVID relief package worth Rs. 20 lakh crores.

Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov & President NeGD, wrote in a blogpost on the MyGov website

“in the last few years, India has shown to the world that it is second to none when it comes to building tech solutions at a very large scale. And this App innovation challenge will further give an opportunity to start-ups and entrepreneurs across India to contribute to building these apps and get rewarded as well as feature on the leader boards”.

Indian Govt. had increased the outlay of the budget for Digital India by 23% to Rs 3,958 CR for 2020-2021. PM Modi’s app innovation challenge seems to be one of the benefactors of this budgetary allocation and the right step toward bringing innovation to the forefront for various start-ups and established tech companies. A strong push from the Government in the form of sustained capital flow and policy decisions will ensure that this vision is taken to fruition.

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