Sridhar Vembu’s “Swadeshi Tech
Awakening”: Arattai and India’s Push for Digital Self-Reliance
Arattai’s Meteoric Rise
Arattai has recently
soared to the top of India’s App Store social networking charts, a milestone
Vembu described as a “Swadeshi moment” in Indian technology.
He views Arattai’s ascent not merely as a product success but as a symbol of
confidence — that India can build secure, privacy-focused, world-class digital
platforms without dependency on foreign ecosystems.
“India must control
its own digital destiny,” Vembu said, underscoring that true progress lies in
long-term nation-building through indigenous R&D rather than imported
technology.
The Swadeshi Tech Awakening
In his Moneycontrol
and CNBC-TV18 conversations, Vembu expanded on the concept of a “Swadeshi
awakening” — a grassroots movement emphasizing independence in research,
data infrastructure, and IP ownership.
He pointed out that India’s thousands of Global Capability Centers (GCCs)
generate vast intellectual property for multinational firms, most of which is
registered overseas. This limits India’s ability to fully benefit from its
innovation output.
According to Vembu, if
India follows the examples of China and South Korea by retaining IP
ownership and building native technological ecosystems, it could emerge as a
genuine global leader in technology.
Warning on the AI Bubble
While optimistic about
AI’s transformative potential, Vembu cautioned against what he described as the
“AI financial bubble.”
He noted that the speculative investment patterns and inflated valuations
around AI startups today echo the excesses of the dot-com and e-commerce booms.
“Much of the current
AI funding is round-tripped capital, not real productivity,” he warned. “This
disconnect between hype and substance makes me deeply uncomfortable.”
Vembu urged
policymakers and investors to focus on sustainable R&D, data ethics,
and long-term productivity rather than speculative market behavior.
From CEO to Chief Scientist
Having stepped down as
Zoho’s CEO, Vembu now devotes nearly 70% of his time to coding, patent
development, and product innovation.
His primary focus has been on enhancing Arattai’s security architecture,
including implementing end-to-end encryption and removing cloud-based
message storage entirely.
Once the upcoming
update is rolled out, all user messages will remain stored locally on devices —
reflecting Zoho’s broader philosophy of user trust, privacy, and
decentralization.
Key Products Offered by Zoho Corporation
Zoho today stands as
one of the world’s most diversified software companies, with a full suite of
SaaS products designed, developed, and hosted entirely in India.
Below is a snapshot of Zoho’s major offerings:
|
Product Name |
Category / Function |
Key Features / Purpose |
|
Zoho One |
All-in-one Business Suite |
Over 50 integrated apps
for sales, marketing, HR, finance, and operations management |
|
Zoho CRM |
Customer Relationship Management |
Sales automation, lead tracking, analytics, and
AI-powered insights |
|
Zoho Books |
Accounting & Finance |
GST-compliant accounting,
invoicing, and financial reporting for SMEs |
|
Zoho Projects |
Project Management |
Task scheduling, Gantt charts, and team
collaboration tools |
|
Zoho People |
HR Management |
Payroll, attendance,
performance reviews, and employee engagement |
|
Zoho Mail |
Business Email |
Secure ad-free email hosting with integrated
productivity tools |
|
Zoho Desk |
Customer Support |
AI-based ticketing,
workflow automation, and omnichannel support |
|
Zoho Cliq |
Team Communication |
Secure internal chat and file-sharing for
organizations |
|
Zoho Creator |
Low-Code Platform |
Build custom business
apps with minimal coding |
|
Zoho WorkDrive |
Cloud Storage & Collaboration |
Team file storage with admin control and versioning |
|
Zoho Campaigns |
Marketing Automation |
Email campaigns, audience
segmentation, analytics |
|
Arattai |
Messaging App |
Privacy-first, Made-in-India alternative to WhatsApp |
|
Zoho Analytics |
Data Analytics & BI |
Advanced data
visualization and AI-driven reports |
|
Zoho Vault |
Password Management |
Enterprise-grade encryption for secure credential
storage |
|
Zoho Commerce |
E-commerce Platform |
Online store creation,
payments, and inventory management |
Ulaa Browser: Catching Up with Google Chrome
Another pillar of
Zoho’s Swadeshi tech mission is the Ulaa browser, a privacy-first
alternative to Google Chrome.
Built on Chromium but stripped of Google’s tracking components, Ulaa is
designed to give users complete control over their data — no third-party
tracking, no ad profiling, and no telemetry data collection.
|
Feature |
How Ulaa Competes with or
Differs from Chrome |
|
Privacy-first design |
Blocks trackers,
fingerprinting, and motion sensors; no third-party data sharing |
|
Chromium-based foundation |
Ensures compatibility with web standards and Chrome
extensions |
|
Multi-device sync |
Secure synchronization of
bookmarks and passwords within Zoho’s ecosystem |
|
Dedicated modes |
Personal, Work, Kids, Developer, and Open Season
modes for privacy and productivity |
|
Built-in tools |
Ad-blocker, password
manager, screen capture, and Smart Tabs for organization |
|
Indian innovation
recognition |
Winner of the Indian Web Browser Development
Challenge by MeitY |
Despite being a late
entrant, Ulaa is rapidly gaining traction in India’s browser market,
driven by users seeking privacy and national data control.
Its user base is growing steadily, and early adoption in schools, SMEs, and
government departments reflects the appetite for secure, Indian-made digital
tools.
Still, Vembu
acknowledges that challenging Chrome’s dominance will be a long-term
effort. Google’s integration across Android and its massive extension ecosystem
make user migration difficult.
However, Ulaa’s privacy stance and independence from ad-based monetization
offer a distinct value proposition in the global browser landscape.
The Broader Vision for Indian Technology
Vembu’s message
remains consistent: India’s technological destiny must be self-authored,
self-hosted, and self-sustained.
Rather than imitating Silicon Valley, he envisions an Indian ecosystem that
builds foundational software — browsers, operating systems, messaging apps, and
business tools — rooted in Indian values of trust, ethics, and community.
For Vembu, Arattai and
Ulaa are not just products but symbols of a Swadeshi tech movement — one
that reclaims India’s digital sovereignty and ensures that innovation serves
the nation first.
“India’s next
technological frontier,” Vembu concludes, “will not come from dependency or
imitation. It will come from the quiet confidence to build — in our own
language, with our own values, and for our own people.”
0 Comments
premkumar.raja@gmail.com