These days, the entire leadership of the country, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is constantly urging citizens to adopt Swadeshi. The Prime Minister says that no country can develop as long as it remains dependent on other countries. To reduce this dependence, citizens must use indigenous products. However, we know that the general public uses not only indigenous products but also a variety of services.
In recent years, due to new technologies, the use of various foreign apps has increased. WhatsApp for messaging, general calling and video calls; Facebook and Instagram for social networking; Google’s Gmail for email; Google Maps for navigation; Amazon, Flipkart-Walmart for shopping and a variety of other apps have seen a tremendous growth in usage.
Google charges hefty fees for downloading many apps, while Facebook and many other platforms also offer advertising services and enjoys near monopoly. The surprising thing is that the providers of these services are making huge profits, yet they are not even ready to pay taxes in India.
Advent of Swadeshi apps with huge support from the people, is fast changing the digital space in the country. Every country and its
citizens have the right to choose what to use and what not to use. The call for Swadeshi can truly be seen as a means to increase employment within the country, reduce dependence on foreign countries, and keep the country’s wealth within the boundaries of the country. It is not just a slogan, but a life vision that centers self-reliance, self-respect and national interest.
Today, when the Indian economy has become heavily dependent on foreign countries, the consequences of which are being borne by the country’s economy and the common man, the call for Swadeshi has once again become important. It is noteworthy that in the era of globalisation, it had been argued that to provide affordable goods to consumers worldwide, it is essential to eliminate barriers to the global value chain.
Components for production can be efficiently manufactured and shipped to different locations in different countries, allowing for higher-quality products to be produced at lower costs. A similar argument was made regarding the movement of goods; that consumers can access the cheapest goods, only through free trade. Goods that can efficiently be produced in our country and then be sold in global markets through free trade.
The logic of globalisation has totally collapsed
The logic of the global value chain was shattered when some countries, especially China, began weaponising their monopoly in global value chains. We haven’t yet forgotten the US ban on vaccine supplies during COVID-19, when global production of many goods, including automobiles, came to a standstill due to China’s deliberate blockade of semiconductor supplies.
Similarly, recently, China began blackmailing other countries, including India, by disrupting the supply of products made from rare earths. For more than seven months, the US President has imposed tariffs on almost all of its trading partners, flouting global agreements. The truth of globalisation has been fully exposed. Consequently, not only India but other countries around the world are now talking about self-reliance.
Swadeshi apps and platforms as the entire country rapidly embraces Swadeshi, and the general public understands that Swadeshi is not limited to indigenous goods but it also includes services; in this digital world, digital services in the form of apps, platforms and e-products, among other services, have become increasingly important.
Zoho Corporation, an Indian software product company, has developed numerous products, including the messaging app Arattai, ZohoMail for emailing and numerous other e-products developed by several Indian start-ups and companies, which are becoming increasingly popular among our citizens. India and its leadership have now fully realised that if India’s industries are to be revived and the Indian economy is to be put on fast growth trajectory, we must minimise our dependence on foreign countries, including China and the United States.
Therefore, the age-old concept of Swadeshi is being promoted by everyone in the Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and this is encouraging people to adopt indigenous products. We need to understand that India is heavily dependent not only on foreign products, but also on digital services, platforms and other e-products. Therefore, when we talk about swadeshi, we should not limit ourselves to indigenous products; it also includes electronic services, both social media and e-commerce platforms and other services related to intellectual property rights (IPR).
Therefore, the scope of swadeshi is expanding. In this context, two new products have gained the most momentum: Arattai (a messaging app developed by India’s Zoho Corporation, which is an alternative to WhatsApp) and ZohoMail, an alternative to Gmail.
In addition to individuals and businesses, the Indian Government is also rapidly shifting to ZohoMail for its email. Leading Indian apps, platforms, and e-products in the digital sector, such as social media, messaging, e-commerce and other technological solutions, offer numerous advantages — especially in the context of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Swadeshi
thought process. Indian apps often prioritise regional languages (over 15-20 Indian languages). User data is stored in India, ensuring privacy and compliance with Indian data laws. Indian apps also offer customised monetisation options for Indian customers and small creators. Indigenous social media apps help build a self-reliant digital ecosystem instead of relying on global giants like Meta or Twitter.
Zoho’s “Made-in-India” messaging app, Arattai, has several advantages over WhatsApp. First, Arattai, being an Indian app, stores user data on servers in India, and being developed by Zoho (an Indian company), it aligns with the Government’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” goals. While foreign
companies are subject to data being captured by companies under foreign jurisdiction, indigenous apps offer data security.
They offer a unique ad-free experience, with the promise that user data will not be used for targeted advertising. Indian platforms have been developed for Indian conditions. For example, Arattai is optimised for low-end devices and poor networks. Furthermore, Arattai includes several features that other apps don’t have.
Arattai is gaining local support and endorsement being Indian, and is gaining visibility and endorsements from some public figures and celebrities, which helps drive trust and adoption.
We must not forget that by adopting these apps and platforms, we will not only save significant amounts of foreign exchange, but also benefit from better security features and the guarantee that user data will be stored in their respective regions and not sold for profit.
Author is a national co-convener Swadeshi Jagran Manch and former professor, PGDAV College, Delhi University; views are personal
