Tata Group's all-in-one 'super app' ambitions face multiple challenges

The group plans to launch an umbrella portal in December, but there are major challenges in its ability to compete with RIL, Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart

When N Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons chairman, made it public last month that the group was building a super app that would go live in December, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries was already in the midst of a similar project — perhaps much more ambitious. 
 

In April, social media giant Facebook had struck a deal to invest $5.7-billion in Reliance Jio Platforms for a 9.9 per cent stake in RIL’s telecom subsidiary — a move that would result in a multi-purpose app or a super app like the Chinese WeChat combining e-commerce, digital payments, social media and even gaming. Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which