Rakesh Deshmukh, co-founder of the PhonePe-owned app platform Indus Appstore, has stepped down as CEO after a decade-long tenure. This comes even as the Indus Appstore is set to be launched in the next few months.

Deshmukh's future endeavours are yet to be known, but in a LinkedIn post, he mentioned taking a break to recharge and prepare for the next impactful journey.

Founded in 2013 by Rakesh Deshmukh, Akash Dongre and Sudhir Bangarambandi, Indus OS became part of PhonePe through acquisition in July 2022 following a prolonged legal battle.

Currently, Dongre serves as the Chief Product Officer, while Bangarambandi holds the position of Chief Technology Officer at Indus Appstore.

The platform is scheduled to go live in the next two to three months, positioning itself as a unique player in the market. Unlike Google, which charges developers a 15-30 per cent fee on in-app purchases and paid app sales, Indus Appstore will impose a zero per cent fee on in-app purchases.

Indus Appstore will provide 24x7 dedicated India-based support through email or chatbot, ensuring swift resolution of queries. The platform will also offer dedicated account managers.

Furthermore, developers using Indus Appstore can list their apps in 12 Indian languages in addition to English. The platform enables the upload of media and videos to app listings in these languages, enhancing accessibility.

PhonePe has already established partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Nokia and Motorola to integrate the app store into their devices, further expanding the reach and impact of Indus Appstore.