he fascination with all things indigenous happens to be not just a theoretical precept, but also a sound business opportunity. Proof lies in the proliferation of vernacular search engines in the country. The latest one to jump on the bandwagon, with the might of $7 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, is guruji.com, which offers search services in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. Others already in the market include khoj.com, bhramara.in as well as raftaar.com.

The obvious question to ask would be the reason behind the sudden proliferation of vernacular search engines. Opinion is almost unanimous on the fact that the next big market for the internet lies in Tier II and III towns. Websites in regional languages have already made a significant impact. The next logical step would be to enable search, the key to the web, in local languages. Anurag Dod, CEO and founder, guruji.com, asks a pertinent question. "If you look at other media, such as TV and radio, local languages are dominant. Why should the internet be any different?" he asks. Besides, he cites a report done by IAMAI which states that 50 per cent of online traffic is already coming from the non-metros. ... more