The National Informatics Centre ( NIC) has successfully launched an instant messaging platform called Sandes similar to WhatsApp. This new platform can be used for all kinds of communications by anyone who has access to a mobile number or email id.
The NIC released the first version of the app in August 2020. Initially, the app was launched for Android devices and then was later made available for iOS devices. The app was first used only by the central and state government officials “for intra & inter-organisation communication.” Now it has been made available for the use of the public too.
Under the initiative of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, The launch of the app is also a part of the government strategy to push for use of India-made software to build an ecosystem of indigenously developed products.
However, unlike Telegram, there is no option to transfer the chat history between two platforms, the chats on government instant messaging systems or GIMS can be backed up to a users’ email id which was used to register.
GIMS ( government instant messaging system), like other instant messaging apps in the market, requires a valid mobile number or email id to register for an account. It offers features such as emojis, forwarding messages, group making, broadcast message.
A unique feature of this app includes an additional safety feature that allows a user to mark a message as confidential, which conveys to the recipient that the message should not be shared with others.
