I have 47 apps on my phone. I actively use 11 of them. The other 36 are there because I installed them once for something specific — a conference, a trip, a limited-time offer — forgot to delete them, and they have been quietly draining storage and battery ever since.
Every few months I do a clear-out. I go through every app, ask myself when I last opened it, and delete anything I cannot remember using in the last 30 days. This is how I discovered that I had three separate apps for ordering groceries, two for cab booking, and one meditation app I had opened exactly once in eight months.
What I kept after the last clear-out is this list. These are the apps I would install on day one if I got a new phone tomorrow. Not because someone asked me to include them, not because any company paid for a mention, but because each one has made a concrete difference in how I navigate daily life in India.
I have organised them by what they actually do — payments, travel, government services, safety, information, and a few that do not fit neatly into any category but earn their space anyway. For each app I have written what it does, why I use it instead of the alternatives, and what specifically makes it useful for an Indian user in 2026.
Section 1: Payments and Money
BHIM UPI — For Reliable Payments in Low Connectivity
Most Indians use PhonePe or Google Pay for UPI payments, and both work perfectly well when your internet connection is stable. BHIM — Bharat Interface for Money, the government’s own UPI app published by NPCI — has one specific advantage that neither of the private apps can match: it completes transactions reliably on weak internet connections.
I discovered this during a trip to rural Maharashtra. The village where I was staying had 2G connectivity at best. PhonePe kept timing out. Google Pay gave me a pending transaction I could not confirm. BHIM processed the payment in one attempt. The shopkeeper had seen this before — he told me he specifically uses BHIM for customers who come from areas with bad signal because it fails less.
BHIM has no ads, no cashback promotions, no gamified rewards that push you toward unnecessary transactions. It is a payments app that does one thing and does it cleanly. For daily UPI transactions this makes it noticeably less distracting than the alternatives.
Best for: Anyone in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities, rural areas, or anyone who finds PhonePe and Google Pay cluttered with promotions.
Download: Search “BHIM” on Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Published by NPCI — National Payments Corporation of India. Free with no in-app purchases.
mPassBook — Post Office Savings Tracker
If you have a Post Office Savings Account, Recurring Deposit, or PPF account with India Post, mPassBook lets you check your balance, view transaction history, and download statements without visiting the post office. For anyone using a Post Office account as a separate savings vehicle — which I have recommended in other articles on this site — this removes the main inconvenience of the system.
Post Office accounts are particularly good for building emergency funds because the slight friction of accessing the money (no app-based transfer, no instant withdrawal) protects savings from impulse spending. mPassBook adds just enough digital convenience — balance checking, statement download — without removing the friction that makes these accounts useful as savings vehicles.
Download: Search “mPassBook India Post” on Play Store. Published by Department of Posts, Government of India. Free.
Section 2: Travel and Transport
IRCTC Rail Connect — Non-Negotiable for Train Travellers
The official IRCTC app is the only reliable way to book Tatkal tickets on mobile. Third-party apps — MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, Ixigo — work fine for regular advance bookings, but Tatkal booking requires being logged in and ready on IRCTC at exactly 10 AM for AC classes and 11 AM for Sleeper. Third-party apps add a booking fee of Rs.15 to Rs.40 per ticket and sometimes lag during the peak Tatkal window when thousands of people are trying to book simultaneously.
The IRCTC app is not designed beautifully. The interface has not changed significantly in years and finding specific features requires knowing where to look. But it is direct, fee-free for most transactions, and connects directly to the railway reservation system without a middleman. For anyone who travels by train more than twice a year it is non-negotiable.
One practical tip: create your IRCTC account and add your passenger details at least a week before you need to book anything. IRCTC account creation has occasional delays and the verification process can take 24 to 48 hours. Do not attempt to create an account on the same day you need to book Tatkal.
Best for: All Indian train travellers, essential for Tatkal bookings.
Download: Search “IRCTC Rail Connect” on Play Store or App Store. Published by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. Free.
Where Is My Train — Real-Time PNR and Live Train Tracking
The official IRCTC app tells you your PNR status. Where Is My Train tells you where your train actually is, right now, on a map. This distinction matters enormously on a 14-hour overnight journey when your train is running 3 hours late and you need to know whether to sleep or stay awake for your station.
The app uses crowdsourced location data from passengers on board — the more people running the app on a given train, the more accurate the real-time location becomes. For popular routes the tracking is excellent. For less-travelled routes it is less precise but still gives a better estimate than the official station announcement board, which often only acknowledges delays when the train is already on the platform.
I used this app on every long-distance train journey I took in the last two years. The single feature I use most: the alarm that wakes you up when your station is 20 minutes away. This sounds small. At 3 AM on an overnight train it is the difference between waking up comfortably and scrambling with your luggage as your station appears in the window.
Best for: Anyone on long-distance trains, overnight journeys, or trains with known delay patterns.
Download: Search “Where Is My Train” on Play Store. Free.
Section 3: Government Services
DigiLocker — Your Documents, Always With You
DigiLocker stores digital copies of your Aadhaar, PAN card, driving licence, vehicle registration certificate, Class 10 and 12 mark sheets, degree certificates, and insurance documents. These copies are legally valid under the IT Act — you do not need physical documents for most situations where you previously needed to carry originals.
I have not carried a physical driving licence in over two years. The DigiLocker version is accepted at police checkpoints across most states, at RTO offices, for KYC verification at banks and telecom companies, and for most government processes. The one exception: some states still require physical documents at specific offices. Check before going to a state government office for anything important.
Beyond personal documents, DigiLocker can store academic certificates and property documents issued by registered organisations. If you have recently received a mark sheet, degree certificate, or property registration document digitally, it can be stored here with a government-verified signature that is legally equivalent to the physical original.
Best for: Every Indian adult. This should be set up the same day you read this.
Download: Search “DigiLocker” on Play Store or App Store. Published by Ministry of Electronics and IT. Free.
Umang — All Government Services in One App
Umang (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is the Indian government’s single app that connects to over 2,000 government services across central and state departments. Through Umang you can check your EPF balance, file a grievance with any central department, access CBSE results, check your ESIC account, apply for a PAN card, check the status of your passport application, and access dozens of other services without visiting a government office or installing separate apps for each department.
The app is not as polished as private apps. Loading times can be slow and some services redirect you to external portals. But the breadth of what it connects to is genuinely useful — particularly the EPF balance check, which many salaried employees previously had to do by logging into a separate EPFO portal on a desktop browser.
Best for: Salaried employees checking EPF, anyone dealing with multiple government services.
Download: Search “Umang” on Play Store or App Store. Published by National e-Governance Division. Free.
ABHA — Your Health Records in One Place
ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) creates a unique 14-digit health ID that stores your medical records, prescriptions, lab reports, vaccination history, and health documents digitally. Doctors and hospitals registered on the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission can access your records with your explicit permission — meaning you do not have to carry physical files or remember which doctor gave you which prescription two years ago.
The system is still building out. Not every hospital or clinic is on the network yet, particularly in Tier 2 and 3 cities. But registering costs nothing, takes five minutes, and the health record storage is useful even if you never use the hospital-sharing feature — you can scan and upload your own documents to maintain a digital health file.
For anyone managing a chronic condition, for parents tracking their children’s vaccination records, or for anyone who has ever sat in a hospital trying to remember what medication they were prescribed six months ago, ABHA solves a real problem that is easy to overlook until you need it urgently.
Download: Search “ABHA” on Play Store or App Store. Published by National Health Authority. Free.
Section 4: Safety and Emergency
112 India — Emergency Services With GPS
The 112 India app connects you to Police, Ambulance, and Fire services through the unified emergency number. This is straightforward. What makes it worth installing beyond just saving 112 as a contact is the panic button feature: press and hold the button and the app simultaneously calls emergency services and sends your live GPS location to your registered emergency contacts.
For women travelling alone, for elderly family members with health conditions, for anyone in an unfamiliar area — the combination of emergency call plus automatic location sharing to trusted contacts is genuinely more useful than a phone call alone. Emergency services receive your location immediately. Your family or friends receive it at the same time. No one needs to ask “where are you” when every second matters.
Set up the app properly: register your emergency contacts, enable location permissions, and run through the setup once so you know where the panic button is. An app you have never opened is not useful in an actual emergency.
Download: Search “112 India” on Play Store or App Store. Published by Ministry of Home Affairs. Free.
Sameer — Real-Time Air Quality for Indian Cities
The Sameer app, published by the Central Pollution Control Board, shows real-time AQI (Air Quality Index) readings from government monitoring stations in cities across India. If you live in Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, or any large Indian city, this app tells you the actual air quality outside your window before you step out.
On days when AQI exceeds 300 in Delhi — which happens regularly between October and February — knowing whether to wear a mask before leaving home is a practical daily decision, not an abstract health concern. The app also shows 24-hour historical data and covers multiple cities, which is useful when travelling.
The data comes directly from CPCB monitoring stations rather than from interpolated estimates. It is the most authoritative source of AQI data available for Indian cities and it is completely free.
Best for: Essential for Delhi and NCR residents. Useful for Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, and other large cities.
Download: Search “Sameer CPCB” on Play Store. Published by Central Pollution Control Board. Free.
Section 5: Information and Daily Life
Inshorts — News in 60 Words
Inshorts summarises every news story in exactly 60 words. This sounds like a gimmick until you actually use it daily and realise how much of most news articles is padding, repetition, and context you already have.
I check Inshorts for 5 minutes every morning while my chai is brewing. In those 5 minutes I read through 15 to 20 news stories covering Indian politics, business, international affairs, technology, and sport. The summaries are accurate, clearly sourced, and genuinely neutral in most cases — the editorial position is to report what happened without opinion.
The alternative — scrolling through full news sites or social media for news — takes significantly more time and exposes you to comment sections, outrage cycles, and recommendation algorithms designed to keep you engaged rather than informed. Inshorts does not try to keep you on the app. You read what happened, you put the phone down, you get on with your morning.
Best for: Anyone who wants to stay informed without spending 30 minutes on news every morning.
Download: Search “Inshorts” on Play Store or App Store. Free.
mAadhaar — Your Aadhaar, Offline and Secure
mAadhaar is the official UIDAI app for managing your Aadhaar card on your phone. Beyond displaying your Aadhaar digitally, it has one feature that most people do not know about and that is genuinely useful: offline Aadhaar XML sharing.
When a business or service asks for your Aadhaar, they typically want to verify your identity. Most people either share a photocopy of the physical card or enter their Aadhaar number directly. Both of these create privacy risks — a photocopy can be misused, and sharing your actual Aadhaar number leaves a permanent record.
Offline XML is an alternative: the app generates a digitally signed XML file containing your name, address, and photograph — enough for identity verification — along with a one-time password that the verifier enters to confirm the document is current. The XML has a time-limited validity and does not expose your actual Aadhaar number. You stay verified without oversharing.
Download: Search “mAadhaar” on Play Store or App Store. Published by UIDAI. Free.
DIKSHA — Free Learning for Students and Families
DIKSHA is the national digital education platform with textbooks, video lessons, practice worksheets, and course content from Class 1 through competitive exam preparation in multiple Indian languages. All content is completely free with no subscription required.
For students in government schools, for parents supplementing their children’s education at home, for anyone preparing for SSC, UPSC, banking, or state government competitive exams — the content depth and quality on DIKSHA significantly exceeds what most people expect from a government platform. NCERT textbooks are available in full for every class and subject. Curriculum-aligned video lessons are available in Hindi, English, and most regional languages.
This is the most underused app on this list. Most Indian families who could benefit from it have never heard of it. If you have children in school or are preparing for any government exam, install it this week.
Download: Search “DIKSHA” on Play Store or App Store. Published by Ministry of Education. Free.
The 3 Apps I Deleted That Most Indians Still Have
Since this article is about useful apps rather than popular ones, it is worth mentioning three categories that most Indian smartphones carry but that do not justify the storage space they occupy.
Multiple food delivery apps: Swiggy and Zomato do the same thing. Pick one, delete the other. The 5% price difference on any given order does not justify having both installed and receiving double the promotional notifications.
Manufacturer pre-installed apps: Every Android phone sold in India comes with 8 to 15 manufacturer apps — a separate browser, a separate music player, a separate file manager, a theme store, a gaming hub. Delete everything you did not choose to install. They consume storage, run background processes, and duplicate functions your phone already does better.
Social media apps you check out of habit rather than choice: If you open an app more than three times per day and feel worse after opening it than before, that app is not serving you. This is not a moral statement. It is a practical one about how your phone should work for you.
Complete App List — Quick Reference
Payments and Money
- BHIM UPI — reliable payments on weak connections
- mPassBook — Post Office savings account management
Travel and Transport
- IRCTC Rail Connect — train booking and Tatkal
- Where Is My Train — live tracking and station alarm
Government Services
- DigiLocker — digital documents, legally valid
- Umang — 2,000+ government services in one app
- ABHA — health records and medical history
Safety and Emergency
- 112 India — emergency services with live GPS sharing
- Sameer — real-time AQI for Indian cities
Information and Daily Life
- Inshorts — news in 60 words, 5 minutes per day
- mAadhaar — secure Aadhaar sharing with offline XML
- DIKSHA — free education from Class 1 to competitive exams
FAQ
Are these apps safe and free from data leaks?
The government apps on this list (BHIM, DigiLocker, Umang, ABHA, 112 India, Sameer, DIKSHA, mAadhaar) are published by official Indian government bodies and are subject to government data protection policies. Read their privacy policies before storing sensitive documents. For DigiLocker and mAadhaar specifically, enable app lock within the app and use a strong PIN.
Do these apps work on older Android phones?
Most work on Android 6.0 and above. BHIM specifically is optimised for older and mid-range Android devices and performs better than PhonePe or Google Pay on phones with limited RAM. Where Is My Train is particularly lightweight. If storage is a concern, DigiLocker and Inshorts are among the smallest in this list by file size.
Is DigiLocker actually accepted everywhere?
DigiLocker documents are legally valid under the IT Act for most purposes — police checkpoints, KYC at banks and telecom companies, RTO processes, and most government applications. Exceptions exist: some state government offices, some private companies, and certain legal processes may still require physical originals. When in doubt, carry the physical document as backup until you have personal experience with a specific institution accepting digital.
I already use Google Pay and PhonePe. Do I really need BHIM?
If your internet connection is consistently good and you live in a metro city, BHIM adds little over what you already have. It is most useful in areas with weak connectivity — smaller towns, rural areas, hill stations, or anywhere 4G signal is inconsistent. If you travel to such areas even occasionally, BHIM is worth having as a backup payment app.
Which of these should I install first if I am setting up a new phone?
In order of priority: DigiLocker first (your documents are immediately accessible), then IRCTC if you travel by train, then 112 India (set up emergency contacts while you have time, not when you need it), then BHIM for payments, then Inshorts for daily news. The others can be added as you need them.
Are there iOS versions of all these apps?
Most are available on both Android and iOS: DigiLocker, IRCTC, BHIM, ABHA, 112 India, Inshorts, mAadhaar, and DIKSHA all have iOS versions on the Apple App Store. Sameer (CPCB) and Where Is My Train have Android versions only as of mid-2026 — iPhone users can check AQI through IQAir or AQI India instead, and train tracking through Rail Radar on mobile browser.