Application stores are ideal solutions for hosting applications and components that can be re-used by other departments at the Centre and the States without investing cost and efforts in development of the same. As a precursor for realizing the importance of application stores, NIC developed the eGov AppStore Framework which was launched in May 2013. The eGov App Store/ Reusable Application Availability Store [RAAS] available at http://apps.nic.in is a common repository and market place of customizable & configurable applications. It offers a forum for user feedback and quality control, and a means of connecting the users with the developers. It supports applications running on different flavours of operating systems (like Microsoft Windows, Redhat Linux, UNIX, etc), databases (like Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.) and application servers (like Apache, IIS, JBoss etc). Objectives Following are the objectives of setting up the App Store: Highlights of e-Gov App Store yyAllows sharing of applications yyAllows search for applications yyProvides basic information about an application on selection yyAllows users to provide feedback & rate an application yyHas two level approval process for contributing applications yyAllows authenticated users to download application yyApplication binaries, database and documentation can be downloaded. yyLeveraging the development and deployment of eGov applications yyEasy replication of successful applications across states and organizations yyAvoid duplication of effort and cost in development of similar applications yyProvides a complete eco-system for application deployment & use yyEnsures availability of certified applications following common standards at one place The App Store operates in collaboration mode with all the stakeholders and under the guidance and policy framework of Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY). It also provides technical guidance to the contributors on how to develop the applications in the productized form or reengineer the already developed applications, how to migrate & install the applications and any user related queries. It maintains record of productized applications along with their reviews and ratings. The App Store provides a national platform to the contributors for showcasing their products for the use of seekers and at the same time empowers them to retain the intellectual property rights of their creation. The app seekers are able to use the product available by configuring it according to their need. Support in terms of product documentation and training is provided to the seekers. Contributing / Using an App Contributing/Publishing an application in the eGov AppStore is a three step process. Authenticated users can contribute an application which is validated by a Validator. The App Store Project Management Unit (PMU) will test and publish the Validated Application. A self assessment checklist is filled up by the contributor which computes a score. This is a means of evaluating how an application rates as a product. yyUser may see the demo URL, for test run of the application yyUsers may contact the contributor of the application for configuration, customization, master data preparation and for any issues in the deployment/ use of the application. yyIn addition to the above, authenticated users can download the user manual and technical manual. yyFor downloadable applications, authenticated users can download the application binaries and database for deployment in their own environment. yyFor runnable applications, users can request the contributor for creating the application instance. Once the administrative formalities are completed, an instance will be created for testing/use. Published Apps As of now, 42 applications/ components/web services are available on App Store. The details of these apps is furnished in the Table. Future Plans Presently, the App Store is a repository of applications and components which were developed for specific requirement of the states/departments. In future, the applications being productized/re-engineered will be made available on the National Cloud for use. App Store will be augmented to include applications and components developed by various departments and agencies at the Centre and the States by including private players. A complete eco-system to run the App Store as a market place will be established (including mechanism for funding, charge back, contract management, SLAs) and will become a part of the GI Cloud initiative under Government of India.