Why is India banning Chinese apps?
It all started with the Sino-Indian border dispute that has remained for more than four decades. By May 2020, tension had been rising in the Ladakh area high in the Himalayas. Many Chinese and Indian soldiers have been in a deadlock at the border waiting for commands. The two nations had pushed a large number of fortifications toward the disputed area. The area winds 2,100 miles through the Himalayas and other mountain ranges. Both the countries upheld their soldiers with tanks, gunnery, helicopters and fighter planes. On June 6, both the countries mutually agreed to withdraw the troops.
However, this agreement to de-escalate turned out very bad for both the parties. The Indian Armed Forces authorities saw conflicts that brought about twenty killed in action. The government and media of China have not yet given out death reports of their soldiers. However, Indian media reports showed that more than forty had passed away. The conflict on June 6 included many troopers engaging each other with rocks, sticks, clubs and exposed clench hands. India prohibited 59 applications including TikTok, ShareIt and Tencent’s WeChat, referring to security concerns.
Simultaneously, a rush of hostile to China notion cleared across India. Many people in the country were rioting in certain spots. They also smashed Chinese-made TVs, plastic tricycles and different items to show their outrage. Later on June 17, both the Chinese and Indian clergymen had a telephonic conversation. They consented to stay away from activities that may heighten the contention. The very day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the citizens through the media. He declared that India needs harmony, but on instigation, India will give a befitting response.
Further ban on Chinese apps
The government of India declared the second schedule of blocked applications on July 27. The country prohibited 47 Chinese applications, including the clones and various adaptations of the first applications. This list consisted of mobile apps like TikTok Lite, Likee Lite, Bigo Live Lite, Shareit Lite, and CamScanner HD. In the most recent response against Chinese applications, the legislature of India has restricted 118 new applications. It was a result of the pressure rising along with the border disputes with China. An Indian fighter was also killed recently by a Chinese land mine.
As a consequence, the Indian government blocked more Chinese applications from its substantial local market as an approach to strike back against China. The new list published on September 2, 2020, contains applications, such as PUBG Mobile. It is a game that owns a vast fan base in India with more than 50 million regular players. It also had thousands of gamers joining the app every day. Around 25% of the PUBG’s worldwide gamer base originates from India. As per the statistics, there have been more than 175 million app downloads of PUBG in India.
The country has reported that it is additionally prohibiting PUBG Mobile Nordic Map: Livik, PUBG Mobile Lite, WeChat Work, and WeChat perusing, along with PUBG Mobile. The ministry explained that the choice is a focused move to guarantee wellbeing, security and sovereignty of the country’s people. A portion of the restricted Chinese applications, including Baidu, Alipay is owned by companies like Tencent and Ant Financial. A significant number of these companies consider India to be a road of development. Therefore, the ban on a large number of apps will have a massive impact on China.
The Impact on Indian Startup Space
Since billions of Indian clients are using the restricted applications, it can have a huge effect on the economy of our country. On the other hand, it clears the entrance to an incredible opportunity for the companies in India. If the startup space quickly looks for options to replace these applications, it would create massive business for the Indian tech organisations. The IT sector of the country is preparing to make use of this shot which comes as a result of the boycott. The Indian Startup Space looks forward to filling up a large gap left by the banning of Chinese apps.
The experts and industry insiders who deal with cross-border funding between the two nations have also looked into the consequence. They believe that the forbidding of the applications will also have a negative impact on investments. It has diminished the assurance among the Chinese speculators to put resources into India. They said this would majorly affect new speculations by Chinese parts in organisations. For example, Paytm (1), Ola, BigBasket, Dream11, MakeMyTrip, and Swiggy, will have trouble raising follow-up investments.
Chinese financial companies, like Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi, have a considerable role in the Indian Startup space. As of now, they have contributed billions of dollars to the country. Indian tech new businesses received funding of 10 billion dollars in 2019. Around 30 per cent of this capital originated from financial firms situated in China, including Hong Kong. They have made the right choice for investment in the last couple of years. China currently funds 18 out of India’s 30 unicorns. However, a large number of Indian organisations sponsored by Chinese speculators have supported the administration’s move of prohibiting the Chinese applications.
Long-term effects
Through the recent decision, India has proved that international affairs and business will be dependent on each other from now on. The hostile relationship at the border will lead to some irreversible changes in both the countries. The experts believe that most Chinese funding organisations will keep down on venture plans in India. A couple of them might also try to sell existing ventures and leave the partnerships.
Gao Feng, the representative of China’s Ministry of Commerce, expressed strong disapproval on September 3, 2020. He said that India’s policy damages the genuine rights and premiums of Chinese funding firms and service providers. They hope that India would make the necessary measures to ensure a fair business for Chinese investors. Feng announced that it would also harm India’s venture atmosphere as an open economy. The Chinese government believes that India is misusing national security by declaring the ban. They assert that India has seriously harmed the harmony with China.
