Union Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently tested the Mappls navigation application, a homegrown alternative to foreign mapping services. A short video circulating on social media showed the minister inside his vehicle, actively using the Mappls app for real-time turn-by-turn directions. The moment caught public attention, and perhaps rightly so, as it aligns with the government’s ongoing efforts to promote indigenous digital solutions under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or self-reliant India campaign.
Key Points:
• IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was seen using the Mappls navigation app in his car.
• The act supports the ‘Made-in-India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.
• Mappls is developed by the Indian technology company MapmyIndia.
• The app offers several features designed specifically for Indian road conditions.
The Mappls app is essentially the consumer-facing product from MapmyIndia, a company that has been at the forefront of India’s digital mapping industry for decades. Officially known as CE Info Systems, MapmyIndia has been creating detailed digital maps of the country long before global mapping giants entered the market. Over the years, it has provided mapping data and navigation solutions to government departments, private corporations, and leading automotive manufacturers across India.
The minister’s use of the Mappls app subtly underscores the presence of a strong domestic alternative in a sector dominated by international players. Much like other popular navigation tools, Mappls includes real-time traffic updates, voice-guided navigation, and location search. But what gives it an edge, perhaps, is its attention to the local context. It offers 3D mapping for complex junctions, speed limit warnings, alerts for upcoming cameras, and even real-time updates about road conditions such as potholes and waterlogging.
This focus on hyper-localized data makes Mappls particularly valuable for Indian users. While global platforms provide extensive coverage, Mappls stands out by drawing from MapmyIndia’s long history of collecting detailed map data specific to Indian geography. For example, it can pinpoint house-level addresses, capture the layout of small towns, and even map remote rural areas, which often remain underrepresented on global apps.
The promotion of such indigenous digital tools fits into the broader national strategy of building a robust domestic tech ecosystem and minimizing reliance on foreign technologies for essential services. When a senior minister like Ashwini Vaishnaw publicly uses and endorses a homegrown app, it not only gives visibility to local innovation but also encourages citizens to consider and adopt Indian-made digital platforms. It’s a small gesture, perhaps, but one that reinforces a larger movement toward digital self-reliance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. What is the Mappls app?
A. Mappls is a free-to-use navigation and mapping application for mobile devices. It is designed for the Indian market and provides features like turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic information, and 3D maps.
Q. Who developed the Mappls app?
A. The Mappls app is developed by MapmyIndia, an Indian technology company specializing in digital map data, navigation, and location-based services.
Q. How is Mappls different from Google Maps?
A. Mappls differentiates itself with India-specific features. These can include more detailed house-level address search, alerts for speed cameras and potholes, and 3D views of complex interchanges, all based on MapmyIndia’s extensive local map data.
Q. Is the Mappls app available for both Android and iOS?
A. Yes, the Mappls app is available for download on both the Google Play Store for Android devices and the Apple App Store for iOS devices.
