Weaving the “AatmaNirbhar” Narrative: Winners of AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge
It is 2020, and apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of other ‘positives’ are also making headlines. Our Government has been striving hard to rouse the public, motivate them to take action and become “AatmaNirbhar”. It is a forward movement, the direction towards becoming ‘self-reliance’ given by our Hon’ble Prime Minister that is percolating slowly but steadily into the lives of our citizens.
A step in this direction has been the grand AatmaNirbhar App Innovation Challenge launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on July 4, 2020. Organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, the App Innovation Challenge received an enthusiastic response from tech developers, start-ups and companies across the country.
9 different categories were identified which are some of the most popular categories for Apps globally- Business, eLearning, Entertainment, Games, Health, News, Office and Work from Home, Others and Social Networking.
There were 1,142 participants in ‘Business’ category, 1,062 in ‘eLearning’, 320 in the ‘Entertainment’ category, 326 in ‘Games’, 901 in ‘Health & Wellness’, 237 in ‘News’, 662 in ‘Office & Work from Home’, 1,136 in ‘Others’ and 1,154 in the ‘Social Networking’ category totalling to a tremendous 6,940 participants.
An elaborate screening process was conducted by 8 Screening Committees who shortlisted the best apps under each category. The shortlisted solutions were submitted to a Jury panel comprising of illustrious members from Industry, Academia and the Government. Over 5 days, presentations were made on novel app solutions to the Jury who admitted that judging, evaluating, deliberating, re-examining and finally selecting the winners had been an arduous task in itself. The solutions were evaluated on parameters of robustness, scalability, security and ease of use.
The very essence of the Challenge, apart from the obvious task of building Apps and Solutions, was to create an App ecosystem that not only invokes pride in our citizens to use solutions that are Made in India and Made for the World, but also inspires tech enthusiasts in each and every nook and corner of our nation to build for India at a scale, that is unparalleled anywhere in the world.
In this historic first-of-its-kind Challenge, the top 5 performing States were Maharashtra, National Capital Territory of Delhi, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. There are 7 Winners, 7 Special Mentions and 28 Shortlisted entries from Tier 1 cities, while 11 Winners, 7 Special Mentions and 31 Short listed entries are from Tier 3 towns and 6 Winners, 6 Special Mentions and 31 Short listed entries are from Tier 2 Towns. Will it surprise you then to know that participation from tech developers was more from Tier 3 towns! It certainly points straight to the fact that India’s next tech whiz, brimming with talent, is ready and available from the smaller towns.
There were 4,151 participants in individual capacities and 2,789 entries from organizations with 23 Winners from the latter. Out of 2,376 Start-ups, there are 17 winners, 14 special mentions and 55 shortlisted entries. What’s more, out of 24 winners, 5 are tech savvy women, while 2 special mentions and 13 shortlisted entries are also from women participants. The women have shown how innovation and technology can help create value and successful enterprises and won all the awards in e-Learning, and Office & Work from Home categories. Needless to say, they have given their tech kinsmen healthy competition!
In the grand finale, the top performers made a final pitch wherein they presented their creative solutions to the Jury and to the ultimate judge of these innovations, the citizens of India through a mega hackathon that was streamed LIVE on the MyGov India platform on August 7, 2020.
The Jury has declared the results of the Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge. MyGov India congratulates all 24 Winners of Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge.
Starting with the Business category, Zoho Invoice, Books & Expense has won the 1st position while Mall91 and GimBooks- Easy Invoice Manager have secured the 2nd & 3rd positions respectively.
In the eLearning category, Disprz Live has got the top rank. The 2nd place has been taken by Kutuki Kids Learning App followed by Hello English: Learn English App which has won the 3rd position.
In the Entertainment category, CaptionPlus is the winner. MemeChat and FTCTalent are 2nd and 3rd respectively in this category.
In the ‘Games’ category, the 1st place goes to Hitwicket Superstars. The 2nd place has been taken by ScarFall: The Royal Combat while the 3rd place has been secured by World Cricket Championship 2 (or WCC 2 as it’s also known).
StepSetGo is ranked 1 in the “Health’ category. The 2nd position has been secured by iMumz.
The News category has had great competitors. The App “Logically” has secured its place at the top while a close second is “IsEqualTo”.
Zoho Cliq & Workplace has topped in the “Office” category. The 2nd position goes to SureMDM.
And in one of the most popular categories, Social Networking, the Chingari App has secured the 1st position. The 2nd position is a tie between the Apps – Koo and YourQuote.
In the ‘Others’ category, the first position goes to the MapmyIndia Move App: Maps, Navigation and Tracking. The 2nd place is awarded to AskSarkar while the 3rd position is secured by myITreturn.
On the whole, the Challenge has seen excellent Apps that have the potential of being leaders in their categories.
Events such as the AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge have the potential to unlock the true value of the tech developers that perhaps lie untapped in our country, and bring their digital stories to the fore. It will, undoubtedly, give the App Users an experience that is exceptional and world-class.
On August 7, 1905, the “Swadeshi” movement was started by stalwarts in India to use products which are indigenous. More than a century later, India is marching ahead in the “AatmaNirbhar Bharat” revolution to innovate, create, build solutions, meet the demands of citizens of the world, and lead by example in the digital sphere. It will surely pin India on the World Map as one of the leading App developing nations.
The sky is the limit when one wants to soar high, and we’ve only just begun…
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