In view of extension of its ˈAtmanirbharataˈ (self-sufficiency) pitch, the Indian government has launched its programme to support domestically built web browsers that will compete with the likes of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera and others. The web browser production challenge has lined up financial grants totaling more than Rs.3 crore and the process with be monitored by the Ministry of Electronics and Information and its constituent departments.
According to sources, the government sees this programme as a chance in giving it bargaining power to convince major US browser companies like Google and Mozilla Firefox to include the country’s web security certification authority in their ˈtrust storesˈ. A browser’s trust store or root store contains a list of certification authorities whose certification can be trusted. Currently, popular browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox do not include India’s official certifying agency in their trust stores.
In India's massive internet market around 850 million users, Google Chrome is leading the race with an 88.47 percent market share, according to Similarweb data for July. Other web browsers like Safari is the runner-up with 5.22 percent, followed by Microsoft Edge at 2 percent, Samsung Internet at 1.5 percent, Mozilla Firefox at 1.28 percent, and the rest at 1.53 percent.
The government expects the development and launch of the indigenous web browsers to be completed by the end of 2024. The process has invited domestic startups, academic institutions and corporations to participate in the programme, and will provide support to the selected pitches throughout the ongoing process.
An official said, ̎As the country sets on a path to become the third-largest economy in the world, it is important that we have control over our digital destiny. We don’t want to be dependent on foreign web browsers in areas where the security and safety of citizens is paramount…Atmanirbharata should be there in web browsers as well.
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