This is India’s best mobile innovation – according to GSMA

Photo credit: Stefano Ravalli

The second most used mobile operating system in India, after Android, is not iOS. It’s Indus OS, and it’s made in India.

The Mumbai-based startup, founded in 2015 by three IIT Bombay grads – Rakesh Deshmukh, Akash Dongre, and Sudhir Bangarambandi – has seen its market share cross Apple’s iOS last year and keep rising.

Today it added another feather to its cap. The GSM Association (GSMA), a trade body representing mobile operators worldwide, has nominated Indus OS for its annual Global Mobile Awards, in the category of “Best Mobile Innovation for Emerging Markets.”

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Indus OS focuses on the needs of users in India, which is the world’s fastest growing smartphone market. It’s available in 12 regional languages, apart from English. Most of India’s fast-growing band of new mobile internet users mostly rely on their native tongue. Predictive typing and easy translation between languages make the regional OS a boon for a multilingual society.

It is based on Android, but adapted for the frugality of data usage in India. It has its own app store called App Bazaar, which has thousands of apps in regional languages.

The shakeup in the mobile landscape with the arrival of new telco Reliance Jio, which is cutting prices of 4G connectivity, is likely to give Indus OS a further boost.

“The nomination at the prestigious GSMA awards is great timing for Indus OS, as this year, we are committed to developing several innovations in alignment with government initiatives,” says Indus OS co-founder and CEO Rakesh Deshmukh. India recently withdrew high-denomination currency notes to push the country towards a digital economy.

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The Indian mobile OS has tied up with homegrown smartphone makers Micromax, Karbonn, and Intex, and is in talks with makers of popular Chinese smartphones in India to opt for this regional operating system. It raised US$5 million in a series A round led by Omidyar Network last year.