Defying Ban, Chinese Apps Quietly Grow In India, Again

A year after the government swooped across the Chinese app ecosystem in the country for engaging in activities “prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and security of India”, many apps from the neighbouring country continue to grow exponentially — some from companies that were explicitly banned, such as Alibaba, Bytedance and Xiaomi.

- Pankaj Doval

Most of these companies have attempted to hide their Chinese origins, listing their apps with new company names, and with little public information about the ownership of the apps.

A TOI investigation finds that at least 8 of the top 60 apps in India today are Chinese-operated, and together reach over 211 million users every month. The same apps had 96 million users in July 2020 when Chinese apps were banned — implying that they have acquired 115 million new users in the last 13 months.

The government had, in an unprecedented measure, brought down as many as 267 Chinese apps in India last year, using provisions under Section 69A of the IT Act.

The clampdown of 2020, at the height of border and diplomatic tensions between India and China, had seen the government take down TikTok, UC Browser, PUBG, Helo, AliExpress, Likee, Shareit, Mi Community, WeChat, CamScanner, Baidu Search, Weibo and Bigo Live, apart from some apps from Xiaomi.

The ban, the government had said, was imposed to ensure safety and security of the citizens, including data protection, and had been recommended by the home ministry.