The case for IndOS: Does India need its very own Android?

Android is for the world what an airport or a power distribution grid is locally — a monopoly that should be regulated rather than replicated for the sake of competition

Apps are tailored to function on specific operating systems. The dominance of Android and iOS worldwide means, for an app developer, that if their app works on these operating

systems, their market is potentially the world. Image: iStock The government wants to create a mobile operating system (OS) to compete with the dominant Android, owned by Google,

and Apple’s iOS operating systems that have pretty much divided up the global smartphone market (Chinese tech major Huawei uses its own Harmony operating system on its phones,

after US President Donald Trump ordered Google to deny Android to companies that violated the sanctions against Iran). The government has even come up with a name for it: IndOS. 

The ambition is noble, undoubtedly. However, such ambition has to be made of sterner stuff than what alternative OS makers have been able to come up with so far. Opinion: Green

flag for green hydrogen sets India on the right path Let us recognise that creating an operating system rivalling Android has been a challenge that the likes of Nokia, Microsoft,

and Mozilla have failed, miserably. Another tech major, Samsung, with a large share of the smartphone market, tried to popularise its own Tizen operating system, but has gradually

reduced its deployment to wearable devices and TVs.  Advertisement Pros and cons of indigenous OS Just because it has not been done till now does not mean that it cannot be

done. But before committing major resources to upstage Android, let us weigh the pros and cons of creating a separate OS for India. Millions of apps are developed around the world

and some of them find traction with users, making their makers rise a considerable distance above the poverty line, like all the way up to the moon. Think of the payment apps

popular in India, music apps, messaging apps, healthcare apps, video streaming apps, educational apps, gaming apps, etc. These apps are tailored to function on specific operating

systems. The dominance of Android and iOS worldwide means, for an app developer, that if their app works on these operating systems, their market is potentially the world. If

someone were to develop a game that appeals to young people in south Mumbai, it could well appeal to young people in Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Saigon, Surabaya, San Francisco, São

Paulo, Stockholm, Southampton, Saint Petersburg, Kinshasa and Timbuktu. That could apply to location-non-specific utility apps as well.  Once an IndOS is adopted, the app would