Giving directions: After Zoho, Vaishnaw pushes India’s Mappls to rival Google Maps

India’s homegrown navigation app Mappls has gained traction following government backing, as it prepares to challenge Google Maps‘ dominance in the country.

In a post on X, union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw endorsed the indigenous alternative, calling on citizens to try the “Swadeshi platform.” In a video, Vaishnaw demonstrated the MapMyIndia-developed application’s features during a car journey on Saturday.

On the App Store, Mappls is #2 in the navigation category, just behind Google Maps, while on Google Play Store, it has over one crore downloads. The…