Categories: Current AffairsNational

Vaishnaw Endorses Mappls as India’s Answer to Google Maps

In a major push toward digital self-reliance, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw endorsed Mappls, an Indian-made navigation app developed by MapmyIndia, as a viable alternative to Google Maps. His public demonstration of the app triggered a surge in its popularity, aligning with India’s broader “Atmanirbhar Bharat” goals and marking another step in promoting indigenous technology solutions.

Government Backing Sparks Growth

Following the endorsement,

Mappls became the #2 navigation app on the Apple App Store, just behind Google Maps.
On Google Play, Mappls crossed 1 crore (10 million) downloads.
The app saw a tenfold rise in daily downloads within two weeks.
Indian Railways is preparing to sign an MoU with Mappls to integrate its mapping services.

Features That Set Mappls Apart

Mappls differentiates itself with India-specific features,

3D junction views for better real-time decisions.
Traffic signal countdowns in supported cities.
Indoor navigation for malls and buildings.
Alerts for speed breakers, sharp turns, and accident zones.
Support for 12+ Indian languages.
Unique Mappls PIN for accurate geolocation.

Industry and Market Impact

The tech community, including Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu, praised Mappls, calling it the result of “decades of R&D”. Investor sentiment also surged — the parent company, CE Info Systems, saw its stock rise by 8%.
The company is also lobbying for pre-installation of Mappls on smartphones made under the PLI scheme, giving it an edge in domestic adoption.