New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS): GSM Association (GSMA) on Wednesday nominated multi-lingual domestic operating system brand Indus OS for the "Global Mobile Awards 2017" to be held at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, later this month.

With a user base of over six million, Indus OS is world's first regional operating system conceptualised for the users from the emerging markets who have been excluded from the digital wave due to the very simple, yet poignant factor -- language barrier.

Indus OS, nominated in the category for 'Social and Economic Development', has become world's first regional operating system to be named for this award.

"The nomination at the GSMA awards is great timing for Indus OS, as this year we are committed to developing several innovations in alignment with government initiatives, aimed towards enabling social and economic development," said Rakesh Deshmukh, CEO, Indus OS, in a statement.

According to GSMA, a global association of mobile device makers and mobile network operators, four billion people are still 'offline' and unable to participate in the digital age due to reasons ranging from lack of access to lack of awareness.