Active monthly users of Indian apps, games jump 200% on Google Play in 2021

Indian apps and games have been receiving extraordinary interest from investors and their active monthly user base grew 200 per cent on Google Play in 2021 compared to 2019, a senior Google official said Wednesday.

While announcing the Appscale Academy Class of 2022, Google Play Partnerships Vice-President Purnima Kochikar said apps and games built by Indian companies are also finding global audiences.

“Last year, Indian apps and games saw a 200 per cent increase in active monthly users on Google Play compared to 2019,” Kochikar said.

She added that Ludo King has become one of the most-played games globally.

“In 2021, the time spent by users outside India on apps and games created by Indian companies grew by 150 per cent compared to 2019,” Kochikar said. She also said that innovations are emerging from different parts of India, including tier-II and III cities. “The opportunity to innovate is no longer limited to select pockets of the country.”

Google has launched Appscale Academy in collaboration with the MeitY Startup Hub. It has selected 100 startups from over 400 applications on account of their creative ideas and innovation, product quality, product scalability and talent diversity.

The Appscale Academy programme will offer a six-month training programme to startups through a customised curriculum. It has been designed to help the firms drive high-quality apps for a global market, including sessions on UX design, business model and monetisation strategies, international expansion best practices, and data safety & security practices.

The startups will receive access to virtual instructor-led webinars, self-learning material and mentorship sessions with leading local and global industry professionals. Select startups will also get an opportunity to pitch to leading venture capitalists.

“Startups and developers are key drivers of India’s digital transformation journey. We at MeitY value our partnership with Google, and it gives me immense delight to further boost this spirit of innovation with the Appscale Academy programme,” said Joint Secretary (Electronics and IT) Bhuvnesh Kumar.

The cohort’s main sectors span education, health, finance, social, e-commerce and gaming. It also includes startups supporting core communities in India through creative apps across agriculture, business-to-business, parenting and more.

Thirty five per cent of the cohort has come from tier-II and -III cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Morbi, and 58 per cent of the cohort have a woman in a leadership role, Google said in a statement.

“Our mission with Appscale Academy is to empower early to mid-stage start-ups with the right knowledge and mentorship to drive app and game innovations for the world.

“Our cohort of 100 Indian start-ups are ensuring that a homegrown solution for many of our daily, critical, and unique needs is today just an app away,” MeitY Startup Hub CEO Jeet Vijay said.