In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s vision of self-reliant India, two brothers from Kashmir`s Budgam district have created a mobile application that they say is an alternative to the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok that was banned in India in June this year following the Galwan Valley clash.

App Developer Tipu Sultan Wani along with his elder brother Mohd Farooq, who is a software engineer, has developed the top-notch application named `Nucular`.Wani had earlier developed a mobile application –“File Share Tool” which allows sharing files at a speed of 40 MB per second, as an alternative to banned Chinese app SHAREit

Buoyed by the success of “File Share Tool,” the siblings decided to create an app on the lines of TikTok.

“After we created `File Share Tool` like SHAREit, we got a good response from people. People wrote us emails that there should an app like TikTok. Then we started working on it. It took us one month. I developed this along with my elder brother Mohd Farooq Wani who is a software engineer. One can create songs, dialogues, and duet on the application,” Tipu Sultan Wani told ANI.

He said that state-of-the-art technology has been used in the application which is available on Google Play to offer a great user experience.”We have used a technology which will help to load videos faster on the app even the internet speed is slow. We have also introduced augmented reality effects into the app. There are no apps in the Indian market with features like this,” Wani said.

“We used the latest technology in ARmask, beauty filters, and VR backgrounds. We keep on adding more and more filters and editing tools. Anyone can upload any video length between five seconds to 60 seconds. One can edit, cut, and add music to any video file. There is 4k resolution in the app,” he said.

Wani said that they have launched a contest where those who will get 5,000 followers on the application first will get Rs 2,000 cash.”We are also giving rewards. Those who will achieve 5,000 followers on the app will get Rs 2,000 cash. We are working on the next update so that people can earn money based on likes and shares,” he said. Locals lauded the Budgam brothers for creating an alternative to Chinese apps.

Firdous Ahmad, a local said: “Earlier we were using TikTok which was a Chinese app, the government banned such apps. In absence of these apps, there was a lack of entertainment mediums for us. We requested Tipu Sultan and Mohd Farooq to develop an alternate app. They earlier created a file-sharing application and that was very good. Now, they have come up with a Nucular app which is an alternative to TikTok. We are thankful to them.”

Another local Faizan Bhat said that people got addicted to TikTok and they were looking for an alternative after the app was banned. “Earlier, people use TikTok. Due to issues between India and China, these apps were banned. People were addicted to TikTok. After the ban, they were looking for an alternate. Tipu developed an app Nocular in which people can use like they were using TikTok.

One can earn from Nucular app,” he said. In July, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) had banned 47 apps, which were variants and cloned copies of the 59 apps banned earlier in June. The 59 apps had been banned by the Centre in June in view of the information available that they were engaged in activities that were “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity and defence” of the country.

Almost all the apps banned had some preferential Chinese interest and the majority had parent Chinese companies. On July 4, with an objective to support and build a strong ecosystem for Indian Apps, MeitY in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission – Niti Aayog launches Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge for Indian tech entrepreneurs and Startups.

In his `Mann Ki Baat` radio programme, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that the youth participated enthusiastically in the AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge.He said that today`s small start-ups will transform into big companies tomorrow and become the mark of India in the world, adding that one should not forget that the big companies which exist in the world today, were also, once, start-ups.