Sridhar Vembu lauds Mappls app: ‘Reflects R&D longer than Google Maps’

Sridhar Vembu, co-founder and chief scientist of Zoho, has expressed admiration for the new navigation application, Mappls, developed by MapMyIndia. He called it 'very nice' and emphasized that it embodies decades of research and development, surpassing even Google Maps in longevity. On October 12, 2025, Vembu took to X to extend his best wishes to Rohan Verma and the MapMyIndia team. His comments followed a post from Ashwini Vaishnaw, India's Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology, who had previously encouraged citizens to explore the 'Swadeshi Mappls' app on October 11. Vaishnaw highlighted the app's practical features and shared a video showcasing its functionality. In the video, Vaishnaw demonstrated Mappls from his vehicle, showcasing its impressive 3D visuals for overpasses and underpasses, as well as its ability to pinpoint shop locations and venues within multi-level buildings. He praised the app for its 'good features' and encouraged people to give it a try. Additionally, the minister announced plans for the government to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MapMyIndia aimed at incorporating Mappls' GIS applications within the railway sector. This move signals a broader integration of the technology into public infrastructure. Following the minister's demonstration, the Mappls team took to X to express their gratitude. They highlighted that the app is 'powered by MapMyIndia’s homegrown mapping technology' and showcased its features, including Junction View, door-level navigation, real-time traffic signal timers, safety alerts, toll cost estimations, Mappls PIN, DigiPIN, and support for regional languages. With over 35 million downloads, Mappls represents the trust that Indians have in homegrown technological advancements. The company aspires to foster a 'connected, intelligent, and truly Swadeshi digital ecosystem for India' and has called on citizens and leaders to rally behind #OperationSwadeshi to promote technological independence and data self-reliance.