With India banning 59 Chinese apps, IIT Kharagpur plans to make most of the market opportunity by helping indigenous players. The institute is likely to call for submission of app development projects by students, which will be sponsored by the institute.
With many students from the IITs powering the strongest corporations in the digital space, IIT Kharagpur also plans to provide tech support to the Indian businesses and companies contemplating to build alternative apps as a substitute for Chinese ones.
IIT Kharagpur director Virendra Kumar Tewari pointed out, “We have a start-up ecosystem of our Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Park, where start-ups can be incubated, helped with both seed funding and developing of such apps. We are also planning on calling for a submission of app development projects by students, which we can sponsor.”
Suman Chakraborty, dean, Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy, said, “This will definitely create an opportunity for Indian technologists and scientists to meet the strong demand for similar products. The ban has only created a supply imbalance in the market, which will attract start-ups to feel the void.”
Goutam Saha of IIT Kharagpur’s IP Law School said, “A specific mobile app-based game can be protected but not its concept or subject area. The way forward is to proactively work on user feedback and assess user needs to launch new products.”
Source:Times of India
