The government is actively engaged in the development of an indigenous mobile phone brand, leveraging insights gleaned from the thriving mobile manufacturing sector in the country, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw disclosed on Wednesday.
Addressing attendees at the launch event of the Indus App store by PhonePe, Vaishnaw revealed that the government is poised to greenlight 2-3 semiconductor plants imminently.
"We are committed to establishing our own Indian handset brand and fostering the entire handset ecosystem domestically. The notable success of large-scale mobile manufacturing in India has provided invaluable insights," Vaishnaw remarked.
He emphasized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategic vision for nurturing the semiconductor ecosystem in India over a 20-year timeline.
"We initiated our India semiconductor mission, and the progress has been promising. The construction of the Micron plant is already underway. We anticipate the approval of at least 2 more semiconductor plants shortly, if not three. This signifies our transition from the design ecosystem to fab and Assembly, Test, and Packaging (ATMP) ecosystem," Vaishnaw elaborated.
The government's objectives include establishing three to four high-volume fabrication plants, carving out a niche, and assuming leadership in at least one product category within the next five years.
In addition to these efforts, Vaishnaw inaugurated an indigenously developed app store — Indus Appstore, recently acquired by PhonePe.
The Indus Appstore boasts a repository of over 200,000 mobile apps and games spanning 45 categories, with user-friendly accessibility in 12 Indian languages. Unlike Google’s Playstore or Apple’s App store, Indus Appstore will not levy commissions on developers' earnings. Additionally, developers will be exempt from app listing fees until April 1, 2025.
PhonePe's CEO and Founder, Sameer Nigam, affirmed ongoing discussions with mobile phone manufacturers to pre-load the app store on handsets.
"Indus Appstore will abide by the laws of the land, allowing all compliant apps to be uploaded onto the platform. Transparent procedures will be followed in case of app removal, with reasons provided," Nigam assured.
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