
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Indian government is reportedly exploring homegrown alternatives to YouTube, but as of late 2025, there’s no official government-backed platform announced as a direct competitor. However, several developments suggest a growing interest in building indigenous video ecosystems.
Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi, in a recent media interaction, hinted that India could consider building its own video-sharing platform, aligning with the Prime Minister’s call for digital self-reliance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently emphasized the vision of a self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat), encouraging the development of indigenous digital platforms. Recently, Zoho launched a WhatsApp alternative called Arattai, which has already garnered massive download before public announcement of the launch.
This isn’t an official announcement, but the hint suggests a desire to reduce dependence on foreign platforms for creator monetization and public broadcasting.
This also suggests the potential for a government-backed or public-private video platform focused on Indian languages, creators, and compliance with Indian regulations.
- Context: India's YouTube Landscape
- YouTube dominates India’s digital video space, with over 650 million monthly Shorts viewers and 75 million Connected TV users.
- Indian audiences increasingly treat YouTube as “India’s New TV,” blending entertainment, education, and commerce.
- Government & Strategic Push
- Digital sovereignty: India has previously promoted indigenous platforms in social media (e.g., Koo vs Twitter) and e-commerce.
- Content regulation: Concerns over foreign platform algorithms, monetization, and moderation have prompted calls for Indian-controlled alternatives.
- Public sector media: Prasar Bharati and other government broadcasters have expanded digital presence, but not yet launched a full-fledged YouTube rival.
- Private Sector & Startups
- Chingari and Roposo (short-form video)
- Stage (regional-language content)
- ShareChat’s Moj (creator-driven entertainment)
- These platforms focus more on short-form and regional content, not full-scale video hosting like YouTube.
YouTube vs Indian Video Platforms
| Platform | Type of Content | Audience Reach | Monetization Model | Strategic Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Long-form, Shorts, Live | Global (650M+ in India) | Ads, Super Chat, Memberships | Creator economy, global discovery |
| Chingari | Short-form, regional | 200M+ downloads | Crypto-based rewards (GARI) | Web3, creator monetization |
| Moj (ShareChat) | Short-form, entertainment | 300M+ monthly users | Ads, brand partnerships | Regional language, mass appeal |
| Roposo | Short-form, influencer-led | 100M+ users | Creator commerce, ads | Fashion, lifestyle, influencer economy |
| Stage | Regional-language OTT | Growing in Tier 2/3 | Subscription-based | Hyperlocal content, cultural storytelling |
| JioCinema | Premium OTT + Shorts | 500M+ installs | Ads, freemium | Sports, Bollywood, mass entertainment |
Google India’s Brandcast 2025 showcased YouTube’s dominance in India, indirectly prompting speculation about local alternatives due to its massive reach.





















The Telegram messenger has also provided a new Cache memory management tool directly to clean-up the storage as per the user requirement. An user need to go to the settings > Data and Storage > Storage usage to see how much storage is used by the files from Telegram divided into segments like Photos, Documents, Music, Voice/ Video messages, Animated stickers and other files. They can also select on a scale from when they want to keep their previous data ranging from 3 days to forever. This will only delete unassessed files which can also be re-downloaded later from the Telegram cloud. A user can also clear the local data base where texts of cached messages will be compressed to save space on the internal disk.
Commenting on the announcement, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO- Eros Digital, said, “The Online Video market has brought a paradigm shift in the way technology is used and will be used to enhance the customer journey and user experience. We at Eros Now have been the earliest movers in the adoption of technology which is a core strength of the brand. The objective and the goal of this collaboration is to ensure we become the primary innovators for the video business and a gold standard for the others to follow. We have immense respect for Microsoft as a company to help us innovate and pave the path for the next generation of online video."
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