Major handset vendors such as Nokia, Apple and Research In Motion (RIM) are planning to roll-out customised versions of their mobile application stores for the Indian market, reports India’s Economic Times. The strategy is designed to attract local developers to their respective app store platforms in the world’s second-largest mobile market. The report notes that Nokia launched its ‘Ovi Store’ in India recently, but plans to roll-out a localised version by December. “We are currently tying up with Indian developers to roll-out local applications,” Nokia India’s director of marketing, Vineet Taneja, told the newspaper. “The idea is to create a business model for apps in India so that the developers too can monetise their work.” He added that the local customised applications are likely to be in areas such as location-based services, music, entertainment, business and utilities.

Meanwhile, the report notes that RIM is planning to launch its ‘BlackBerry App World’ store in India and is also aiming to attract local third-party developers. “The apps will be focused around productivity, connectivity, travel, instant messaging, navigation as well as some industry-specific applications. Certain applications will be customised for India,” said a senior RIM India official. According to industry sources, Apple, which pioneered the app store concept with its hugely-successful ‘App Store,’ is also planning a similar strategy to target the Indian market.