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Strained U.S. ties spur more calls for use of Indian goods

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Indian infotech minister shifts to domestic firm Zoho's

software

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American brands have deep roots among Indian users

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History shows hard for Indian brands to replace foreign

apps

By Arpan Chaturvedi

NEW DELHI, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Three cabinet colleagues of

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are promoting use of apps by

domestic rivals to Google Maps, WhatsApp and Microsoft ( MSFT ), in the

strongest backing yet for "Made in India" products amid trade

tension with the United States.

After the United States imposed a 50% tariff on Indian

imports in August, Modi has pushed for use of "swadeshi"

products, or those made in India.

While many industry executives have made public calls to

support Indian products, Modi made a direct appeal last month

for Indians to scrap daily use of foreign goods.

Information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave a

media presentation on highway projects this week he said was put

together employing Zoho, a domestic rival to Microsoft's ( MSFT )

PowerPoint, and without use of Google Maps.

"The map is from MapmyIndia, not Google Maps," the minister

said with a smile, referring to an Indian provider. "It's

looking nice, right? Swadeshi."

Last week, Vaishnaw made a video clip testing Zoho software

and asked people to adopt indigenous products in a post on X

that drew 6.2 million views.

ASPIRATIONAL UPGRADE

American brands are everywhere in India, and they are seen

as an aspirational upgrade by millions.

While government and private offices use Microsoft ( MSFT )

products, many travellers rely on Google Maps to find their way

about, and WhatsApp counts India as its biggest market, with

more than 500 million users.

The three U.S. companies did not respond to Reuters requests

for comment.

Zoho offers cheaper alternatives to cloud-based software

tools made by Microsoft ( MSFT ). The Indian firm's billionaire

co-founder, Sridhar Vembu, is famed for an unconventional

approach of locating business operations in rural villages.

The firm's messaging app, Arattai, or "chat" in India's

southern Tamil language, has gained sudden popularity, thanks to

the efforts of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Education

Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

"So proud to be on @Arattai, a #MadeInIndia messaging

platform that brings India closer," Goyal said in an X post this

week.

There were more than 400,000 downloads of the app last

month, compared to fewer than 10,000 in August, data from market

intelligence firm Sensor Tower shows. Its daily active users

crossed 100,000 on September 26, an increase of 100% on the day.

TOUGH TO REPLACE GLOBAL BRANDS

Indian companies find it difficult to replace global brands,

since they often cannot match their financial clout and reach.

In 2021, Indian ministers promoted X-like social media

platform Koo amid compliance-related disagreements with the

American platform. But the Indian company shut last year for

lack of funding.

"Only state patronage will not be enough," warned Dilip

Cherian, a co-founder of Indian public relations firm Perfect

Relations.

"What brands like Zoho need to succeed is a unique

differentiating factor, deep pockets and strong protection

against survelliance."