The Centre has introduced ‘Sandes,' an instant messaging application in response to the fight with WhatsApp. According to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, the app is available on Google Play and Apple's App Store.
Earlier, the government of India had outlawed several popular Chinese apps and launched a slew of their alternative options.
Sandes is a localised version of Facebook's WhatsApp, and anyone with a phone number or a valid email address can use it for any type of communication. The app is currently used by government employees and government-affiliated organisations.
Following its disagreements with WhatsApp over end-to-end encryption and the new IT Rules, the government chose to pursue and launch homegrown apps and software in order to create an ecosystem of Indian-made products.
"Sandes is a secure, open source-based, cloud-enabled application. It is maintained by the government and runs on government infrastructure, guaranteeing that control stays solely in the hands of the government."
The features of the app include group and one-on-one massages, audio-video calls, file and media sharing, and e-government application integration.
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It's said to include a web version that allows users to send and receive messages directly from their browser. The Sandes app will also support audio and video conferences, a better chatbox and data backup.
Though not all of these features are currently available in this app, developers have ensured they will be in the near future.
Sandes is a messaging app that can be modified and combined with other government apps. The management portal is used for onboarding, group administration, employee verification, broadcasting messages, dashboards, and analytics for the organisation and its employees.