India needs a digital goods marketplace and control of its distribution layer, say Indus Appstore and Eloelo

A digital goods marketplace is an online store where people discover and buy products delivered digitally. It connects creators and developers with customers, making discovery, payment, and access easier. In India, it also matters because distribution and billing influence who can reach users.

Products can include apps, games, streaming subscriptions, microdramas, and digital items inside games. The article cites PhonePe’s gold category, which grew after enabling purchases of Rs 10 a day. This shows how small prices can give value-conscious users a softer first step before larger spending. However, Google and Apple’s 15% to 30% billing commissions can make cheap products unviable.

India currently lacks a thriving marketplace for these goods. Web stores have low reach and create extra steps, while major app stores control discovery and payments. Indus Appstore argues for lower commissions and hybrid stores that people can use through icons or AI agents.

The next 500 million are India’s future app users, especially mobile-first people often called Bharat. They are value-conscious, culturally diverse consumers who need locally priced, easy-to-use services. This could unlock a huge market for digital goods, including microdramas, streaming and games. It could also strengthen Indian discovery and payment systems.

PhonePe’s gold category shows how this audience can convert when prices feel accessible. Purchases grew after PhonePe introduced a Rs 10-a-day option. The lesson is not that Indians refuse digital products. They need a softer first step, trustworthy platforms and simple payment choices before spending more.

Today, India still lacks a thriving digital-goods marketplace. Google and Apple commissions of 15% to 30% can make cheap products unviable, while web stores reach fewer users. Indus Appstore and Eloelo argue that future platforms must combine local pricing, fairer distribution and AI-based personalisation. That could bring more users and creators into India’s app-first economy.

Google and Apple control the main gateways where Indian users discover and download apps. Their stores also control payments, giving them influence over which products reach users and what developers earn.

Both companies hold powerful distribution positions, while their billing commissions typically range from 15% to 30%. The Epic Games and Google dispute showed how developers can become dependent on these gatekeepers. Web stores offer another route, but users face extra steps and developers get less reach.

India still lacks a thriving marketplace for digital goods, despite its mobile-first economy. Priya Narasimhan of Indus Appstore says the country needs control over discovery, billing, and data consent. Indus aims to reduce developers’ commission burden. The challenge is reaching value-conscious users without making discovery purely pay-to-play.

When an app store takes 15% to 30%, a cheap digital product can become commercially unviable. The fee comes from each sale, leaving less money to cover creation, support, marketing, and payment costs. That forces developers to raise prices, accept thinner margins, or avoid offering small purchases.

PhonePe’s gold category shows why this matters: it scaled after allowing purchases of just Rs 10 a day. Such low prices can attract value-conscious users, but a large store commission removes a significant share of every small transaction. Developers may then steer users to web stores, yet Narasimhan said those routes create extra steps and reach fewer people.

The current system leaves Google and Apple as powerful distribution gatekeepers, while India lacks a thriving digital-goods marketplace. Indus Appstore says it aims to reduce developers’ commission burden, while keeping discovery from becoming purely pay-to-play. Lower costs could make affordable gaming, microdramas, and other digital products easier to offer and buy.

Web stores are an imperfect alternative because they add friction between a person and a digital product. They also have lower reach than app stores, which already sit inside India’s mobile-first daily habits. That makes discovery and purchase harder, especially for low-priced goods.

PhonePe’s gold category shows why this matters: it grew after allowing purchases of Rs 10 a day. A web store may technically sell such a product, but extra steps can discourage users before checkout. Those steps matter when the product depends on frequent, small payments.

Indus Appstore’s Priya Narasimhan said Google and Apple’s 15% to 30% commissions can make cheap digital products unviable. Web stores avoid some app-store control, but sacrifice reach and ease, leaving developers with a difficult trade-off. India therefore needs stronger local marketplaces that improve distribution and billing without making discovery purely pay-to-play.

Indus Appstore and similar Indian platforms need control of all three: discovery, billing, and data consent. This would let India shape how people find, buy, and safely use digital products. Sovereignty means setting local terms, not rebuilding every underlying technology.

The Epic Games-Google dispute in the United States shows the risk of relying on gatekeepers. When one store controls discovery and payments, its rules and fees can make cheap products unviable. Web stores avoid some fees, but user friction and limited reach reduce their usefulness.

Google and Apple commissions range from 15% to 30%, while Indus aims to reduce developers’ burden. Indus also says discovery should not become purely pay-to-play, with automated checks and human review for fraud. Going forward, app stores must stay simple for users while becoming usable by AI agents.

Digital sovereignty means deciding how people discover, buy, and manage data through technology. It matters because gatekeepers can shape access, pricing, and the value developers receive, even when core tools come from abroad.

For example, Narasimhan cited the Epic Games-Google dispute as a warning about dependence on app-store gatekeepers. Google and Apple charge commissions of 15% to 30%, which can make low-priced digital products unviable. An independent marketplace with local billing could lower friction and give developers fairer routes to customers.

India therefore need not recreate chips or language models to protect its interests. It can connect to global technology while controlling distribution, billing, and consent around data. Indus Appstore says marketplaces should serve ordinary users simply and also work with AI agents. The challenge is building trust, reach, and safeguards; fraud checks already combine automation, human review, and monitoring. Sovereignty means setting the terms of use, not isolating the country.