In a move highlighting India’s push for digital self-reliance, three senior ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet are urging citizens to shift toward homegrown alternatives to global tech giants like Google, WhatsApp, and Microsoft.
The rare show of collective endorsement underscores New Delhi’s determination to elevate “Made in India” platforms at a time when trade and technology ties with Washington, D.C., face growing strains.
India’s technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw this week showcased a presentation on the country’s highway projects, pointedly noting that it had been created using Zoho, a local competitor to Microsoft’s PowerPoint and prepared without relying on Google Maps. The move was widely seen as a symbolic nod to India’s push for homegrown tech solutions over foreign platforms.
Smiling as he pointed to the screen, the minister emphasized the choice of platform: “The map is from MapmyIndia, not Google Maps,” he said, quoted by Reuters, highlighting the Indian alternative. “It’s looking nice, right? Swadeshi.”
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Just last week, Vaishnaw shared a video of himself experimenting with Zoho’s software, urging Indians to embrace homegrown technology. His post on X quickly gained traction, racking up more than 6.2 million views.
Zoho has positioned itself as a lower-cost challenger to Microsoft’s suite of cloud-based tools, and its billionaire co-founder Sridhar Vembu is well known for building operations out of rural Indian towns rather than big-city tech hubs.
The company’s messaging platform, Arattai which means “chat” in Tamil has recently seen a surge in attention after endorsements from Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, giving fresh momentum to India’s push for homegrown digital alternatives.
Following the Trump administration’s decision in August to slap a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has doubled down on his call for “swadeshi” or domestically made products. The push is part of New Delhi’s broader effort to reduce reliance on foreign technology and strengthen homegrown industries, a stance that could further complicate trade ties with the United States.
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Although business leaders across India have voiced support for homegrown brands, Modi went a step further last month, urging citizens to cut back on everyday reliance on foreign-made goods and embrace domestic alternatives.
Despite the government’s campaign for digital self-reliance, American tech products remain deeply embedded in Indian life. Microsoft continues to dominate office software, travelers overwhelmingly depend on Google Maps, and WhatsApp with more than 500 million users in India is the platform’s largest market worldwide. Local firms often struggle to compete, lacking the capital and scale that global giants command.
India has tried this playbook before. Back in 2021, ministers rallied behind Koo, a homegrown alternative to X, after policy disputes with the U.S.-based platform. But Koo was forced to shut down last year after running out of funding, underscoring the uphill battle for Indian startups against well-financed global rivals.