India may soon bring its Zoom rival as MeitY asks startups to develop video conferencing solution

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently issued an advisory saying the popular video conference app Zoom is not a safe platform (Image: Reuters)

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) wants Indian startups to develop a video conferencing platform for use by the government. The video conferencing solution should support all video resolutions and audio quality, work on any device, should be able to host multiple concurrent conferences with multiple participants in each conference, and work in low and high network. The latest date of registration is April 30.

MeitY is essentially running a content to find the team that can develop the video conferencing platform. It will first select ten teams and provide them Rs 5 lakh to develop a prototype. Out of ten teams, three teams will be shortlisted, and will get funding of Rs 20 lakh to develop a solution. The winning team will receive Rs 1 crore for deploying the solution. That team will further get Rs 10 lakh per year towards operations and maintenance.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an advisory saying the popular video conference app Zoom, is not a safe platform. However, individuals can still use the app.

Zoom has become a popular video conferencing platform during the shutdown but it has come under scrutiny due to safety and privacy concerns over the app. Last week Taiwan advised government agencies against using the platform over security concerns. The FBI has warned of Zoom video calls being hijacked.