Make for India

What is Make for India?

Make for India (makeforindia.com) is a community and directory that helps people discover and support Indian products, apps, services, and companies. The site positions itself as a place to “discover, support, & celebrate Indian innovations,” highlighting domestic alternatives across retail and digital categories.

Rather than selling a single product, Make for India curates featured items (for example, “Product of the day”) and browsable lists of Indian offerings. It also includes editorial content via “Swadeshi Magazine,” which publishes articles related to innovation, economics, and sovereignty.

Key Features

• Featured listings (“Product of the day”): The site rotates highlighted products/services, providing quick entry points into specific Indian alternatives.
• Retail category browsing: Users can explore Indian retail options grouped by categories such as apparel, food products, personal care, stationery, watches, and technology.
• Digital category browsing: The directory organizes digital products into areas including Artificial Intelligence, Business, Communication, Development, E-Commerce, Finance, Health & Wellness, and Security & Privacy.
• Digital product discovery by purpose: In addition to categories, the site lists digital products by task areas such as Accounting & Billing, CRM Software, Payment Solutions, and Mapping solutions.
• Swadeshi Magazine articles: The site publishes regular editorial posts (e.g., around innovation, trade, and agriculture/dairy), which complement the directory with context.

How to Use Make for India

1. Visit makeforindia.com and start with Retail Categories or Digital Categories depending on what you’re looking for.
2. Use the category and purpose lists (e.g., AI tools, payment solutions, CRM software) to narrow down to the relevant section.
3. Check the featured entries (e.g., “Product of the day”) for quick examples of Indian alternatives and then explore related listings from the category pages.
4. If you want additional context, read relevant posts in Swadeshi Magazine.

Use Cases

• Finding Indian alternatives to common apps: If you use global services (the site explicitly references replacements like common UPI/payments and browsing/search tools), you can browse to identify Indian counterparts in the relevant digital category.
• Shopping across Indian retail verticals: When you want to source products from specific retail segments (such as food products, beverages, grooming, or footwear & accessories), you can browse the Retail Categories to see what’s available.
• Exploring AI and developer tooling in India: For teams looking at AI platforms, datasets, toolkits, or developer-oriented offerings, the Artificial Intelligence and Development categories provide a structured starting point.
• Researching business software needs by function: If you’re comparing tools by job-to-be-done—payments, CRM, accounting, HR & payroll, marketing tools, or project management—you can use the Digital Products by Purpose lists.
• Reading editorial context alongside product discovery: When you’re evaluating “swadeshi” or domestic innovation more broadly, you can pair directory browsing with Swadeshi Magazine articles.

FAQ

Is Make for India a single software product?

No. Make for India is a community directory and discovery site that lists many Indian products, apps, services, and companies, along with editorial content in Swadeshi Magazine.

How is the directory organized?

The site provides browsing via Retail Categories, Digital Categories, and Digital Products by Purpose (task/function-based groupings like payments, accounting, CRM, and mapping).

What does “replaces” mean on featured products?

In the featured “Product of the day” section, the site includes a “Replaces” note to indicate the type of global product/service the Indian listing is positioned as an alternative to.

Can I browse by both retail and digital needs?

Yes. The site explicitly separates Retail Categories (physical product categories) and Digital Categories (software and online services).

Where do the magazine articles fit in?

Swadeshi Magazine is presented as a separate editorial section (“Latest From Swadeshi Magazine”) and complements the directory with articles on topics like innovation and economic issues.

Alternatives

• Other Indian startup/product directories: Instead of mixing retail and digital categories with “products of the day” and editorial posts, many directories focus primarily on one segment (e.g., startups or SaaS) and may not include retail categories.
• Category-specific discovery sites: If you only need one domain (e.g., payments, cybersecurity, or AI tools), specialized platforms that aggregate providers in that single category can be faster than a broad directory.
• General app stores and web marketplaces: These are useful for installation and browsing, but they don’t provide a swadeshi-focused curation or category structure aligned to Indian alternatives as presented on Make for India.