In an effort to promote technological self-sufficiency, the Indian government launched a competition to develop Indian browsers, writes The Register.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced a browser development competition to encourage local talent and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign-developed browsers.

The competition is part of a broader initiative by the Indian government to encourage the development and adoption of indigenous technologies. This drive toward technological self-sufficiency is a recurring theme, especially in light of recent geopolitical tensions and concerns over privacy and sovereignty.

Contestants are challenged to create browsers that effectively meet the diverse linguistic and cultural needs of the Indian population. Given the country’s vast linguistic diversity, with 22 officially recognized languages and hundreds of dialects, the competition emphasizes the importance of creating browsers that can seamlessly support different languages and scripts.

In addition to language capabilities, the challenge emphasizes the importance of security, speed, and compatibility with global Web standards. The government wants to ensure that the browsers developed not only meet the unique needs of the Indian population, but also meet international standards for performance and security.

To encourage participation, the Indian government has set aside a prize fund. The winning team will receive a cash prize, but the exact amount has not yet been announced. In addition, the winning browser is expected to receive government endorsement or support, potentially leading to widespread adoption in public sector institutions.

The Indian Browser Design Competition is open to startups, technology companies, and individual developers based in India. The government hopes that this initiative will not only lead to the creation of an Indian browser, but also inspire further innovation in the country’s technology sector.