India’s homegrown messaging ecosystem is getting a boost after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw publicly endorsed Arattai, a messaging platform developed by Chennai-based Zoho Corporation. Positioned as a made-in-India alternative to WhatsApp, the app has caught attention as part of the government’s Swadeshi push to encourage local technology adoption.
What is Arattai?
The word “Arattai” means “casual chat” in Tamil, reflecting its focus on simple everyday communication. The app supports text messaging, image and video sharing, voice and video calls, stories, documents, and even channel-based broadcasts for businesses. Built by Zoho, a company with more than 55 business applications and 130 million global users, Arattai aims to combine familiarity with a distinctly Indian identity.
Features and security
Arattai includes end-to-end encryption for voice and video calls, ensuring that conversations remain private. However, messages are not yet encrypted to the same standard, leaving a security gap compared with WhatsApp. End-to-end encryption for messages is widely regarded as a baseline for protecting personal and professional communication, and the absence of this feature may discourage adoption by privacy-conscious users.
Government endorsement
Pradhan described Arattai on X as “free, easy-to-use, secure, and safe,” appealing to citizens to adopt Indian-made apps in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swadeshi drive. Vaishnaw, during a Union Cabinet briefing, also highlighted Zoho’s ecosystem by revealing that the government presentation had been created using Zoho Show instead of Microsoft PowerPoint.
Can it replace WhatsApp?
While Arattai presents itself as a credible local option, WhatsApp’s dominance in India is difficult to challenge. With over 500 million users in the country, WhatsApp enjoys entrenched network effects, advanced security features, and widespread integration. For Arattai to replace WhatsApp, Zoho will need to strengthen encryption for messages, scale its user base, and continue innovating.
For now, Arattai serves as a promising alternative that reflects India’s ambition to reduce dependency on global technology platforms while fostering domestic
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