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Banning of Chinese apps

-Savita Kapoor

Is banning of Chinese apps was a right attempt taken by the government of India? This question arises in every Indian’s mind during this time of the Pandemic. India has recently banned 59 Chinese mobile applications which is a strong signal which may not hurt India given the alternatives in the ever-growing app market. On the other hand for China, the Indian app market is growing and valuable. All of this happened due to the exercise of coercive diplomacy with China, the tense standoff in Ladakh. It’s not half as bad for India as compared to China as internet costs in our country are one of the lowest in the world, and the number of consumers is over 800 million. Most of these smartphone users are below the age of 25 and constantly hungry for content on their devices. This is probably the first big action that hits Chinese business interests in India.

While some could see this coming, others were surprised with the move. Popular applications such as TikTok, Shareit, Shein and WeChat, among others were the ones that have been banned even
though they were a big help during the lockdown.

According to some top officials, the government had considered before taking such a big decision. Many even believe that the Chinese could be engaging in cyber activities which could be invading our privacy and steal data which could further be misused. Even though many of the applications that have now been banned, were of great help to keep people engaged during the pandemic. Certain measures had to be taken to maintain peace.

SO, in end, we can say that India banning of Chinese applications is an effective way to impose on costs on China for its actions as together we can and together we will.

-Savita Kapoor