Startups form new body to protect ‘freedom of choice’

A group of Indian startups has formed an industry association – Atmanirbhar Digital India Foundation (ADIF) – to liaison between government and regulatory agencies and protect what they call “freedom of choice” for domestic internet companies.

The move comes amid growing concerns among the domestic startup ecosystem around alleged monopoly risks posed by Big Tech companies — Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft — in controlling India’s burgeoning internet and digital economy.

The association comprises startup founders and chief executives such as Murugavel Janakiraman of Bharat Matrimony, Snehil Khanor of TrulyMadly, Ritesh Mallik of Innov8 Coworking, Sairee Chahal of SHEROES, Ajay Data of Data Group, Anand Lunia of India Quotient, Amit Sinha of Unnati and Shailesh Vikram Singh of Massive Fund, among others.