India striving to switch to 'Product Nation' from 'Service Nation': Vaishnaw
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, MAR 21, 2025: ON the occasion of World Happiness Day, the Government of India reaffirmed its commitment to empowering citizens through secure and innovative digital solutions. The focus of India's IT sector, which generates over USD 282 billion in revenue, is shifting towards creating indigenous hardware and software products. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), took a visionary leap toward technological self-reliance by launching an ambitious challenge to develop an indigenous web browser under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. This landmark initiative, aimed at fostering innovation and bolstering digital independence, was conducted by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Bangalore.
Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the winners of Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (IWBDC). In a function organized by MeitY on 20th March, 2025, he expressed immense pride on the participants who demonstrated outstanding innovations, remarkable creativity, expertise and in making significant strides in the development of a reliable web browser tailored to Indian needs. The developments are a step forward in realizing the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and empowering India's digital future.
Speaking on the occasion Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized Government of India's broader vision of transforming India into a "product nation" from a service nation, that is self-reliant in technology, hardware and software solutions. As part of this vision, IWBDC was launched to develop an indigenous web browser, receiving enthusiastic participation from startups, students, and researchers, all eager to contribute to India's digital self-reliance. The Minister also urged the need to accelerate the journey from innovation to large-scale productization, enabling the widespread adoption of homegrown digital solutions and encourage startups and industry to develop competitive secure, and scalable technologies that contribute to India's self-reliance.
The web browser serves as the primary gateway to the internet, enabling activities such as web surfing, email, eOffice, and online transactions. The advantages of an indigenous Indian browser are manifold. Firstly, it ensures enhanced data security, with user data kept within the country's borders, fostering better control over sensitive information. Secondly, it complies with India's Data Protection Act, ensuring privacy and adherence to the highest standards of data security. Additionally, all data generated by Indian citizens will remain in India, enhancing the country's digital sovereignty. Furthermore, the browser will be compatible with all major platforms, including iOS, Windows, and Android, ensuring broad accessibility and usability across devices.
Addressing the participants, the Minister said that that the development of India's own web browser marks the first significant step towards the creation of an entire Indian digital stack. Zoho Corporation emerged as a winner with Team PING- a startup as 1st Runner-Up and Team Ajna a startup as the 2nd Runner-Up. Recognizing their outstanding contributions, an award of Rs 1 crore, Rs 75 lakhs, and Rs 50 lakhs was given to the winner, 1st Runner-Up, and 2nd Runner-Up, respectively. A special mention was made for "Jio Vishwakarma" for their design of browsers in varied platforms.The Minister also expressed his satisfaction in seeing the winners emerge from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, highlighting the significant talent and potential across India's smaller cities.
On the occasion S. Krishnan Secretary, MeitY highlighted the importance of indigenous Web Browser and its features. Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, E Magesh, Director General C-DAC, Arvind Kumar, CCA, Smt Sunita Verma, Scientist 'G' and GC(R&D) and other Senior officers from MeitY, C-DAC and industries also participated in the event.
With its own certificate trust-store, these indigenous browsers will cater to the needs of the Indian users and set a new benchmark for trust-worthy digital interaction.
Indian Web Browser Development Challenge
The Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (https://iwbdc.in) was launched setting the stage for a transformative journey in web browsing. Structured across three progressive stages-Ideation, Prototype, and Productization-the challenge required designing the browser with a spectrum of critical features, including a dedicated trust store with CCA India Root certificate, Digital Signing within the browser, Child-friendly browsing, Parental Controls, seamless compatibility with all official Indian languages, Web3 support, and cutting-edge browser capabilities. The competition garnered an overwhelming response from startups, industry leaders, and academia, showcasing India's immense talent and drive for digital sovereignty. A remarkable 434 teams registered for the challenge, embarking on a rigorous and competitive journey. As the challenge unfolded, eight outstanding teams made it to the final stage, where their innovations were evaluated by a distinguished Jury Panel.
