chinese apps in india

A former merchant navy captain, Nagesh Kumar, has been apprehended for allegedly orchestrating a cyber slavery ring. He is accused of luring Indian youths with false job promises to Cambodia, where they were forced into fraudulent call centers. The racket, exposed by victims, involved trafficking individuals to Southeast Asia and exploiting them for financial gain.

Telangana Cyber Security Bureau busted a racket supplying Indian SIM cards to cyber fraud gangs, arresting five individuals including a vendor at RGIA airport. The vendor was apprehended attempting to fly to Cambodia with 198 pre-activated SIMs, intended for use by Chinese gangs in various online scams targeting Indian citizens.

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

India's revised Press Note 3 aims to ease Chinese investment but retains strict joint venture rules, limiting FDI. This approach, seen as economically self-defeating, overlooks China's technological prowess and global investment patterns. Experts argue controlled Chinese investment, not exclusion, could actually enhance India's security leverage.

The government has banned 47 more Chinese apps which are apparently clones of the 59 applications banned earlier, news agency PTI reported on Monday. The IT ministry said the apps have been banned because they are prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and defence of India. The banned apps include Tiktok Lite, Helo Lite, SHAREit Lite, BIGO LIVE Lite and VFY Lite.

The government of India has issued an order to ban 54 Chinese apps citing that these applications pose a threat to national security. The 54 Chinese apps include Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera - Selfie Camera, Equalizer & Bass Booster, CamCard for SalesForce Ent, Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Chess, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock, and Dual Space Lite among others.

Responding to a zero-hour issue raised by a Trinamool Congress MP, she said action has been taken against apps that are cheating people by offering loans.

Delhi Police crime branch has dismantled a sophisticated arms trafficking network operating between Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, arresting 10 operatives. Seized were 21 high-end foreign weapons, including a Czech submachine gun and specialized pistols, suspected to be destined for criminal gangs for targeted killings across north India.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday welcomed New Delhi's decision to ban dozens of apps with Chinese links, saying it will "boost India's integrity and national security." "We welcome India's ban on certain mobile apps that serves as an appendage of the CCP's (Chinese Communist Party) surveillance State," Pompeo told reporters.

India’s decision to ban 59 Chinese apps may appear to be a small step but according to high-level sources, it reflects a larger effort to thwart the Chinese Communist Party's strategy to mine data for both political and military purposes. For instance, reports that US Prez Trump’s recent rally registrations may have been hijacked by TikTok bots rang alarm bells in India.

China has expressed strong objection to India’s decision to ban 118 more Chinese apps, spokesperson of the China’s ministry of commerce, Gao Feng said at a briefing on Thursday.

The 59 Chinese apps ordered blocked by India have been served with an exhaustive list of questions to which they need to respond within three weeks. The questions are understood to have been served to firms such as TikTok, Helo, and Xiaomi. The questionnaire seeks details about “unauthorised data access” by firms to weak security features leading to espionage/surveillance.

The Council has been working actively for the last few weeks with various technical institutes of excellence, research institutions for developing indigenous and cost effective solutions to replace Chinese systems and software.

China said on Tuesday that India's move to ban 59 Chinese-origin mobile apps could be a breach of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, and urged New Delhi to create an open and fair business environment.

The government on Monday “blocked” as many as 59 Chinese Apps, including TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat, Shareit and CamScanner, for “engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. The move against the “malicious Apps" came after several complaints of stealing of user data.