NAVTEQ today announced the finalists of the India region of the 2010 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge. Twelve applications have been selected to advance to final judging.

This is the first time the LBS competition is held in India, “reflecting the strong interest in LBS in India, as well as the number of talented developers and NAVTEQ's presence in the region”, said the map company in a statement.

The finalists for the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge in the India region are:

Ariose Software Pvt. Ltd. which presents two applications: Hobby Lobby and mSurvey. Hobby Lobby is a social networking application that brings together individuals with similar hobbies and interests in a given location. mSurvey is an enterprise field survey application that allows users to gather information (text, image, video, voice) in a structured manner, tagged with location-specific metadata.

BIZense Technologies. mCouponStore is a mobile coupon store application to help you find coupons based on your location and preferences.

Eterno Infotech Pvt. Ltd.. NewsHunt-Local incorporates location-based advertising with information from India's most popular mobile news services, all in local languages.

Genesys International Corp. Ltd.. GenesysGolf is a solution for GPS-enabled smartphones that eliminates the need for golfers to separately carry a range finder device.

HotDeals. HotDeals is a mobile-based service that pushes deals to the user based on a specified wish list and current location.

Its4Solutions Pvt. Ltd.. Marathon Master is a mobile application that provides live statistical feedback to help marathon runners improve their performance while training and while running the marathon.

Max Mobility Pvt. Ltd.. Child Tracker is a GPS and RFID-based bus tracking and child safety solution for parents.

Mega Car Pool Pvt. Ltd.. Mega Carpool enables carpooling by matching riders with nearby vehicles going to the same destination.

Ninad Majmudar. LooLoca is a powerful, location-based community application developed for the Android OS that helps you locate loos (restrooms/washrooms) around you.

Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd.. Taxi Seeker is an application that allows users to log on and search for the closest available taxi.

Why2Wait. Why2Wait allows users to trace the route and arrival time of buses and the availability of cabs in their vicinity through their mobile phones.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on April 29 in New Delhi.