Winners of App Innovation Challenge

Welcome to India and the Indian App landscape! There have been many developments and breaking news in the recent past.

Following the Indian government’s ban on 59 Chinese app in June 2020, the Ministry of Electronics and Technology (Meity) supported by MyGov had announced ‘Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’. AatmaNirbhar here stands for self-reliant and Bharat is India.

The idea behind this App innovation challenge is to identify the best Indian apps that are already being used by Indian citizens and have the potential to scale and become world class apps in their respective categories.

The app challenge received participation from 6,940 tech entrepreneurs and start-ups across the country in India. The challenge had entries for nine different categories:

Business
Entertainment
e-Learning
Health
Games
News
Office
Social and
Others

In September 2020, the Indian government headed by Narendra Modi announced the winners of the App innovation challenge.

24 apps were featured on the leader board and are awarded cash prizes and incentives. Here is a quick summary for you.

Winners of the challenge

Business

1	2	3
Zoho Invoice, Book & Expenses	Mall 91	GimBooks
Application for invoicing and accounting expenses	Video-based shopping application where you earn money by making referrals	Easy Invoice manager application

In the Business category, Zoho Invoice, Books & Expense; Mall 91; and GimBooks are the top three winners, respectively. Zoho Invoice and GimBooks are used or invoicing and accounting expenses. Mall 91 is a video-based shopping application where you earn money by making referrals.

Entertainment

1	2	3
CaptionPlus	MemeChat app	FTC talent
Captions and Hashtags for Instagram and Facebook photos	Application for meme creators to get paid by brands for their creativity	An online global platform that connects talent to Jobs & recruiters in the Media and Entertainment Industry.

The top three winners under the entertainment category were CaptionPlus which turn pictures into stories; MemeChat app that helps meme creators to get paid by brands for their creativity; FTC talent – an online global platform that connects talent to Jobs & recruiters in the Media and Entertainment Industry.

e-Learning

1	2	3
Disprz	Kutuki Kids Learning app	Hello English: Learn English
Professional development platform that creates business impact by bridging the gap between learning and working	Kids learning application – Preschool at home	A free English and grammar learning application

Under the e-Learning category Disprz; Kutuki Kids Learning app; and Hello English: Learn English took the first, second and third positions respectively. All these application supports learning and skill development.

Health

1	2
StepSetGo	iMumz
Fitness application – Walk to earn SSG coins	Pregnancy app – Week by week Pregnancy Program

The health category had two winners StepSetGo (SSG), an apps for fitness on every step; followed by iMumz – week by week pregnancy program monitoring application.

Games

1	2	3
Hitwicket Superstars	ScarFall – The Royale Combat	World Cricket Championship 2a – WCC2
Cricket Strategy Game with exciting 3D Mobile Experience	A shooting game with survival challenge	Advanced 3D mobile cricket gaming

Under the Games category, Hitwicket Superstars – Cricket Strategy Game with exciting 3D Mobile Experience; ScarFall – The Royale Combat, a shooting game with survival challenge; and World Cricket Championship 2a” (WCC2) for every cricket lover were the top three winners respectively.

News

1	2
Logically	IsEqualTo
Application for checking fake news instantly and verifying the facts for you	Global learning app for students offering Daily News, Quiz and GK for Students

Logically and IsEqualTo are the two winners under the news category which offers daily news, quiz and general knowledge for students.

Office

1	2
Zoho Workplace & Cliq	SureMDM
Real time messaging app enables communication across teams	Mobile device management solution

The Office category also had two winners Zoho Workplace & Cliq and SureMDM. The Office apps are built for managing business and for employee’s productivity.

Others

1	2	3
MapmyIndia Move	Ask Sarkar	myitreturn
Maps, Navigation & Tracking – all in one application	Personal Digital Assistant to Give Authentic Information	Application for easy and quick way to file your Income tax return

The Other category had three winners — MapmyIndia Move – Maps, Navigation and Tracking; Ask Sarkar – Personal Digital Assistant to Give Authentic Information; myitreturn – tax filing platform in top positions respectively.

Social

1	2	3
Chingari	Your Quote	Koo
Short video app for creating entertaining content	Daily practice writing application	A micro-blogging app for your post in Kannada

In the social category, Chingari an alternative for Tik Tok topped the list; followed by writing app Your Quote at second; and Twitter alternative Koo which allows people to follow top Indians and news in Indian languages at third position.

Special Mention

20 apps are identified and had a special mention. These apps have potential to be the winners in the feature. The following apps were listed under various categories.

Business category: Boomer and Linq My Business;
Entertainment category: Boom and DocuBay;
eLearning category: ChalkLit and eMedicoz;
Health category: SastaSundar and Aurum;
News category: LetsUp and Paperboy;
Games category: Math Games, Donkey Master and Kite Fly;
Office category: SparkLive, IamHere and Kaagaz Scanner;
Social category: Hidoc Dr and Mitron;
Others category: Xplore AI Keyboard and Life Hacks.

Through this initiative ‘Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’, the “promotion of existing apps” as well as the “development of new apps” are focused and are encouraged. This initiative brings India’s digital innovation to the world and also to its own people.

Do keep a watch on Indian app landscape for innovative players and game changers.

Share this blog :