India to Ban Chinese Mobile Apps
Mumbai, 25th November: India has banned 43 mobile apps on Tuesday, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-commerce app Aliexpress.
Baaghi TV: According to reports, India bans 43 mobile apps in a new wave of web sanctions targeted at China after the neighbours’ months-long standoff on their rugged Himalayan border.
The technology minister said in a statement that 43 mostly Chinese-origin applications, which also include a few dating apps, threatened the sovereignty and integrity of India.
Previously, India banned more than 170 apps, saying they collect and share users’ data and could pose a threat to the state.
The Indian technology Minister refers the move as a digital strike comes after 20 Indian soldiers got killed in a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border site in June.
The Chinese embassy in India said on Wednesday it resolutely opposed the ban. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Aliexpress is not a major player in India’s fledgeling e-commerce market, which is led by Walmart Inc’s Flipkart and Amazon.com Inc’s local unit. It is, however, popular with some motorcycle enthusiasts and small shopkeepers, who use it to source cheap goods.
The move is another setback for Chinese giant Alibaba, which is the biggest investor in Indian fin-tech firm Paytm and also backs online grocer BigBasket.
On Wednesday, China demanded India to revoke the ban on more Chinese mobile phone apps. A foreign ministry spokesman accused India of violating global free-trade rules and discriminating against Chinese companies.
China said it had “serious concerns” about the move and India’s “so-called pretext of upholding national security”.
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