PhonePe launches Indus Appstore, to compete with BigTech players

Homegrown foray: Walmart-backed PhonePe on Wednesday launched Indus Appstore, an Android appstore touted to compete with American BigTech Google Play.

Launched by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Delhi's Bharat Mandapam, Indus Appstore comes as a localised appstore for country, which also happens to be largest mobile apps downlo market globally.

What makes it different?

app lets users explore apps in 12 Indian languages. It also follows a short video-led discovery model, where apps can uplo trailers for users to land up on apps using bite-sized, video snackable content to drive engagement.

Users will not be required to register through ir email dress, but rar use ir phone number - a first for appstores, PhonePe Founder and CEO Sameer Nigam said. This allows for more personalisation, which is not possible in case of shared email dresses because phone numbers are exclusive to one person.

App developers will not be required to pay any listing fee for a year, until April 1, 2025.

Amid BigTech app players levying a fee on payments outside of ir own payments ecosystem, PhonePe has said it will not charge any commission from app and game developers for choosing an external payments gateway.

launch is opportune given Indian startup ecosystem's push for free market competition in mobile app store space.

It also offers storage management, recommending which apps to put on sleep or delete. This feature, company said, is not offered by or app stores.

Digital Ecosystem

On launch, Nigam said, "Indus Appstore challenges status quo, ushering in an era of more healthy competition in mobile app marketplace, which in turn should help create a more democratic and vibrant Indian digital ecosystem. Indus Appstore embodies our commitment to building a truly inclusive digital ecosystem where every Indian user feels at home.”

Indus Appstore allows for Indian consumers to downlo over 2 lakh mobile apps and games, across 45 categories. It also comes with a smart optimiser for downloing updates based on how much of it user has consumed.