India will be launching its indigenous web browser as a significant milestone towards creating an indigenous digital ecosystem, Union Minister of Railways and Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw stated.
Vaishnaw stated this while distributing the awards of the Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (IWBDC) on Thursday.
The prize for the top spot in the competition went to Zoho Corporation, a software firm established by Sridhar Vembu. The government had launched the challenge to support the creation of an indigenous web browser, part of its overall vision to establish India as a "product nation" instead of merely a services provider in the technology sector.
Vaishnaw underlined the importance of accelerating the transition from innovation to mass production, urging industries and startups to make efforts to produce secure and scalable technologies. He also underlined the necessity to make India digitally self-reliant by creating solutions that have enhanced data security and comply with India's Data Protection Act.
The new web browser, which is meant to run on different platforms such as iOS, Windows, and Android, will have the user's data security and privacy as its top priority. With functionalities such as digital signing, parental controls, Web3 support, and a built-in certificate trust store, the browser seeks to raise the bar for secure online experiences in India.
This effort comes as part of India's drive to create and sell its own technology products, and it represents an important step on the path towards digital self-reliance and sovereignty.
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