Made in India: The Apps that Shone in the India AatmaNirbhar Bharat Innovation Challenge

The results for the Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat Innovation Challenge are out.

The app innovation challenge was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4th, 2020 and it saw participation from over 6,940 tech entrepreneurs and startups across the country. The objective of this initiative was to identify the best Indian Apps that are already being used by citizens and have the potential to scale and become world-class apps in their respective categories.

There were nine categories and the prizes include cash packages of INR 20 lakhs as first prize, INR 15 lakhs as second and 10 lakhs for third prize.

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The fitness application, StepSetGo was the winner in the health and fitness category, followed by iMumz, a week by week pregnancy programme app.

Talking about the win, Shivjeet Ghatge, CEO and Co-founder, StepSetGo says, “We are thrilled to have won this challenge and would like to thank the government and our Prime Minister for providing a platform to startups to showcase their innovation to the world. It is a proud moment for StepSetGo to have built a product that is loved and used by over 6 million users.  For us, this is only the beginning, we have numerous new innovative solutions lined up for our existing and new users and hope to be the catalyst for the fitness revolution that’s about to ignite in India.”

The Business and Office category was won by SaaS unicorn Zoho, followed by the expense management app Books & Expense, multilevel network marketing platform, Mall 91, and invoicing and bookkeeping platform GimBooks.

The video-sharing app Chingari, which is trying to fill the TikTok gap in India, won in the Social category, while its close competitor, Mitron, found a special mention. Chingari was followed by the writing app YourQuote and the news and opinion sharing micro-blogging platform, Koo.

The E-Learning category saw the professional development platform Disprz, Kutuki Kids Learning app, and English language learning app, Hello English as the first three winners.

The fact checking platform Logically and news and learning app IsEqualTo took the prizes in the News category, while CaptionPlus, Meme Chat, and FTC Talent won in the Entertainment category.

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The Games category winners were the 3D cricket strategy game, Hitwicket Superstars, the shooting game, ScarFall, and the mobile cricket game WCC2.

The navigation app MapmyIndia, information verification app AskSarkar, and online tax filing platform, myitreturn, won the top positions in the Other category.

The challenge brought forward an array of brilliant apps, showcasing the talent of the nation. With the ban on Chinese apps still on, such initiatives are an advantageous opportunity for India’s startup ecosystem to showcase their talent.