Zoho offers free doc scanner after govt bans Chinese app

Chennai-based software-as-a-service Zoho is offering its Doc Scanner app, for free for a year in India. The move comes after the government banned 59 Chinese apps, including CamScanner.

Read: TikTok, WeChat, Club Factory among 59 Chinese apps banned by Indian govt

Zoho spokesperson Raju Vegesna announced the development on microblogging site Twitter.

Update: The Zoho Doc Scanner Android app has been updated and is now free in India. https://t.co/Jlbb6Qfpxx

— Raju Vegesna (@rajuv) July 1, 2020

Zoho’s scanner app scans documents and saves them as PDF files, which allows digital signatures. It extracts text content from scanned documents and translates content into 15 languages. 

Prior to making the app free, the company had allowed 10 scans under its basic plan. Its premium plan charged up to Rs 2,999 for the service depending on usage. The app has recorded 10,000 installs, as per data on Play Store.

Zoho has launched new apps and offered existing paid apps for free to enable companies to cope with the Covid-19 crisis. It launched Zoho Classes, an app for schools and offered Zoho Meeting for government offices for free for three months under its Swadeshi Sankalp initiative. 

The company also launched Zoho Creator Covid-19 App Programme, to help non-profits, government bodies and communities that are working on initiatives like patient monitoring or food distribution to execute their mission with the help of apps.