The Indian govt has blocked 320 mobile applications so far, according to a Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. The information was produced in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Som Parkash, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry said that these application were blocked due to the “sovereignty, integrity and security of the state.” Also Read - Zomato, Swiggy face outage in cities all over India: Check details
In the latest round of apps being banned, the government took out 49 applications. The government claims that these applications were more like duplicates of the ones that were banned initially. Also Read - Indian govt bans 22 YouTube channels for spreading fake news: Check full list
According to a PTI report, Parkash said, “”In line with the objective to ensure a safe, trustworthy and accountable internet for all its users, the government has so far blocked 320 mobile applications under the provision of section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000,” Also Read - After latest Chinese app ban, Indian govt to continue scrutinizing applications: Report
In order to showcase how this doesn’t impact the Indian economy a lot, Parkash also said that India has received only $2.45 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from China. This investment was made from April 2000 to December 2021.
He further explained China’s contribution in FDI inflow in India or lack thereof. Parkash said, “China stands at 20th position with only 0.43 per cent share (USD 2.45 billion) in total FDI equity inflow reported in India during the period of April 2000 to December, 2021.”
The Indian government had announced the first round of ban on Chinese applications in the month of June 2020. The list of 59 apps includes popular names such as TikTok, ShareIt, UCBrowser, SheIn, Clash of Kings, WeChat and many more.
The second time Chinese apps were axed was in September 2020. This time, the most popular game on Android and iOS had to face a shutdown in India. PUBG Mobile was banned. This led to Krafton studios announcing an Indian version of the game BGMI. Few NGOs in India are demanding for a ban of the battle royale game.
