PhonePe in Advanced Talks to Pre-Install Indus Appstore on Smartphones: Report 

PhonePe, a digital payments platform, is in advanced negotiations with two major smartphone manufacturers to pre-install its Indus Appstore on their devices. This strategy aims to expand the reach of this local alternative to the Google Play Store to 150 million users by the end of the year, as per a report by the Economic Times. 

Indus Appstore is an Android-based app store by PhonePe that is available in 12 Indian languages. Calling itself a “game-changer in India’s digital journey,"  the app by the digital payments platform does not have any listing fees for developers until 2025. The app also provides features like voice and regional search for consumers. In March, Indus Appstore surpassed more than 1 million installations, as per the company website. 

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Speaking about the app, Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe, said, “Indus Appstore challenges the status quo, ushering in an era of more healthy competition in the mobile app marketplace, which in turn should help create a more democratic and vibrant Indian digital ecosystem.” 

In March, the company said in a statement that Indus Appstore has currently entered into strategic OEM (original equipment manufacturers) partnerships with Nokia and Lava and is in advanced discussions with several other major smartphone manufacturers. These partnerships aim to pre-install apps on 250–300 million devices by the end of the year, with smooth upgrades and installation processes. 

Akash Dongre, cofounder of Indus Appstore, added that the app intends to have more than 150 million users by the end of this year. As per the report, Dongre said, “Indus Appstore aims to have more than 150 million users by the end of the year and is ready to rival the scale of the competition by building deep partnerships with the developer ecosystem, focused on transparent policies, fair commissions, and local support.”