Indus Appstore, PhonePe’s Android app store tailormade for Indian consumers and developers, has marked a significant milestone by crossing the 10-crore device mark. The store, which features over 500,000 mobile apps and games, has strengthened its claim as a strong challenger to global competition like Google Play Store.
At the core of this success is PhonePe’s deep focus on localization. Typically, global app stores often rely on English-first interfaces. However, Indus Appstore allows its users the chance to explore and discover apps in 12 Indian languages, apart from English, covering 95% of India’s linguistic diversity. According to PhonePe, nearly 40% of Indus Appstore prefer exploring the platform in their own language, with Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Gujarati in the lead.
Indus Appstore’s vernacular-first design has led to strong adoption across Tier II and Tier III towns across the country. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra have emerged as key states, in terms of usage, followed closely by Karnataka and Telangana.
Young India leads the way
Powering the appstore’s growth is the youth of India. While GenY (27-44 years old) contributes a majority share, GenZ (18-27 years old) is not far behind, accounting for 33.7% of the user base. Together, both groups make up 93.5% of all users under the age of 45.
The average Indus Appstore user is a male – between 28 and 44 years old – residing in a Tier III city or small town. PhonePe reports that nearly 70.6% of the platform’s users hail from Tier III regions, highlighting how deeply Indus Appstore has penetrated India’s rural and semi-urban markets – areas often overlooked or underserved by global digital platforms.
A marketplace of diversity
Built on a strong foundation of language diversity and accessibility, Indus Appstore is rapidly expanding its app catalog. With 500,000 apps and games across 45 categories, users have a wide range of choice that includes social media, communication, entertainment and finance apps.
What makes the app store distinctive is its short-form, video-based app discovery feature. It allows users to discover apps in an interactive and engaging way – perfect for a generation accustomed to social media platforms. What’s more, it allows users who prefer video-first experiences to enjoy their experience on the app.
A partner to developers
A second cohort of users, developers, is also finding reasons to embrace the platform. Indus Appstore offers free app listings, a multilingual storefront, relevant analytics, local customer support, and the freedom to integrate any third-party payment gateway. These features level the playing field for developers, unlike global app marketplaces that tie them down with restrictive policies and revenue-sharing models.
Indus Appstore’s reach, flexibility, and localized support make it a powerful partner in progress for the developer community targeting regional and niche markets.
What’s next?
Commenting on the milestone, Priya M Narasimhan, Chief Business Officer of Indus Appstore, said, “It’s a proud moment for all of us to cross the 10-crore milestone, and it is an important step in our journey of building a horizontal app store for India.”
She added that the company will continue to offer users a seamless, safe, and rich app selection experience that makes Indus Appstore not only a destination for apps, but a platform where users can discover apps that are right for them.
“We will also continue to support the developer ecosystem by offering a level-playing field that allows them to distribute and reach the right users with features built for the Indian regional and cultural context,” she said.
As India continues to digitize at a rapid pace, platforms like Indus Appstore will play a crucial role in ensuring that the benefits of technology reach every corner of the country—not just English-speaking metros but also small towns and villages.
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)
