Apple and other smartphone makers are being pressed by India to pre-install government-developed apps on devices before sale, echoing a similar 2021 demand from Russia that Apple ultimately complied with. The request came during a meeting last month where government officials outlined plans for expanding access to state digital services, according to Bloomberg.

The push comes as India seeks greater regulatory control over global tech companies. The initiative would require manufacturers to include the government’s GOV.in app store and related apps like BHIM, DigiLocker, VoterID on smartphones sold from India.

Beyond pre-installation, they also requested that their apps be available for download outside the company’s app stores from third-party sources without triggering “untrusted source” warnings.