How the ban on Chinese Apps Influences the Indian Startups

In the event of the present stand-off between Chinese and Indian troops along the LAC, the Indian government has banned some Chinese apps for preventing data theft. The Indian authorities requested blocking as many as 59 mobile Chinese apps with effect from 29th June. The main reason for banning these apps was cited to be national security concerns.

Announcing the Ban of Chinese Apps

It was announced by the Indian government that these apps posed threats to the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the nation. According to the statement, these apps are responsible for the illegitimate mining of user data and sending them secretly to the servers located in China.

The compilation of information is a matter of concern because of the hostilities between the 2 countries at present. As a result, an emergency measure like the ban has become imperative. The Internet has become split on its repercussions and decision on the startup system of India.

According to some individuals, it is going to create opportunities for growth for existing and startup IT technology players in India as well as upcoming startups. Other people are of the notion that it might affect the tech unicorns of India inadvertently which was receiving money from Chinese investments out there.

What apps have become banned?

It is a fact that the majority of the Chinese apps which have been banned can boast of having extensive markets in China. TikTok happens to be amongst the most significant of them whose video format along with some intriguing features, has made it an extremely popular social media platform in recent times. There have been as many as 600 million downloads of this particular app in India till now which is more than 35% of the global numbers at present.

As per Sensor Tower, there have been more than 112 million installations of this non-game application during May this year. Moreover, 20% of those installations were done in India alone. Helo, which happens to be a sister app of TikTok, has also been banned. It boasted of having more than 55 million Indian users.

Amongst the other well-known apps which have become banned, the following are worth mentioning.

• UC Browser – This happens to be the 2nd most popular Indian mobile browser after Google Chrome

• ShareIt and Xender – Well-known apps for file sharing

• Likee and Kwai – Video sharing apps

• ROMWE, Club Factory, as well as Shein – Shopping apps

• Sweet Selfie, Wonder Camera, plus YouCam Makeup – Apps for photo editing

• Cam Scanner – Apps for scanning files

• Clash of Kings – Apps for gaming

Apart from this, there are other notable banned apps as well including DU Battery Saver, Virus Cleaner, ES File Explorer, DU Browser, DU Privacy, DU CleanerMi Community, and so on.

The positive impact of the banned apps

Several business tycoons who experienced success, as well as failure in the Indian tech startup ecosystem, have spoken in this decision’s favor.

India will become self-sufficient- Apart from hurting any type of security issue as well as a privacy breach, this will help India in becoming self-sufficient in terms of the tech industry. It is in the same line with the recent call of the Indian prime minister of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”. This particular stance has been appreciated by many individuals within the country.

This move has been welcomed by lots of startup owners and business leaders in India. According to them, the ban will help the Indian businesses to establish better in the GDS alternatives to the Chinese apps which have been banned. Amongst those who favored the ban of the Chinese apps, the names of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Mohandas Pai, and Debjani Ghosh are worth mentioning.

Naveen Tewari, who happens to be the Co-Founder and CEO of InMobi which is the owner of Roposo a rival of TikTok, supports the ban completely. The day following the Indian banning of the Chinese apps, he asserted that his company had been serving more than one 60 million Indians at present.

Tewari made one more tweet which explained how the ban would be affecting the digital landscape in India. According to him, a massive gap is going to be created which should be filled up by every single Indian businessman in the IT tech sector with proper alternatives. He further added that his own company was trying not to allow the Indians to fill the gap whatsoever.

Apart from this, he also declared that this might be the opportunity for India to establish the 4th biggest tech ecosystem on the planet following the USA, Russia, and China.

The negative impact of the banned apps

The parent companies of some apps such as Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, and Baidu have made investments in the Indian startup economy at present. These tech giants from China had been funding 18 out of 30 Indian tech startup companies last year. Alibaba, together with Ant Financial, can boast of having stakes in Zomato, Paytm, Big Basket, as well as Snapdeal. Alibaba happens to be the single biggest Paytm shareholder at present.

On the other hand, Tencent has made notable investments in Alibaba’s rival unicorns such as Flipkart, BYJU’s Learning App, Swiggy, Hike, Ola, as well as Udaan. India had also been expecting an investment of $1 billion from ByteDance, the owner of Helo and TikTok. However, this appears to be impossible right now with the ban taking place.

Latest list of banned Chinese apps:

• APUS Launcher Pro

• APUS Launcher

• APUS Security

• APUS Turbo Cleaner 2020

• APUS Flashlight

• Cut Cut

• Baidu

• FaceU

• ShareSave by Xiaomi

• CamCard

• CamCard Business

• CamOCR

• VooV Meeting

• Super Clean

• Small Q brush

• WeChat reading

• Government WeChat

• WeChat Work

• Tencent Weiyun

• Cyber Hunter Lite

• Pitu

• Cyber Hunter

• Knives Out

• Super Mecha Champions

• Dawn of Isles

• LifeAfter

• Ludo World

• PUBG MOBILE LITE

• Chess Rush

• Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade

• PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map

• Warpath

• Art of Conquest: Dark Horizon

• Dank Tanks

• Gallery Vault

• Game of Sultans

• Smart AppLock

• Message Lock

• Dual Space

• AppLock

• AppLock Lite

• ZAKZAK Pro

• ZAKZAK LIVE

• Music

• Music Player

• Cleaner – Phone Booster

• Photo Gallery HD & Editor

• Photo Gallery & Album

• Music Player – Bass Booster

• Web Browser & Fast Explorer

• Video Player All Format for Android

• Gallery HD

• Video Player

• Amour

• MV Master

• APUS Message Center

• Carrom Friends

• Ludo All-Star

• Bike Racing

• Rangers Of Oblivion

• Z Camera

• GO SMS Pro

• U-Dictionary

• Ulike

• Tantan

• MICO Chat

• Kitty Live

• Alipay

• Mobile Taobao

• Road of Kings- Endless Glory

• AlipayHK

• Penguin FM

• Youku

• Sina News

• Netease News

• Murderous Pursuits

• Mobile Legends: Pocket

• HUYA LIVE

• VPN for TikTok

• iPick

• Little Q Album

• Hi Meitu

• Beauty Camera Plus

• Parallel Space Lite

• Rules of Survival

Takeaway

With the ban on Chinese apps, Indians are expecting to observe a tech explosion- a positive impact of the ban. With fingers crossed, it can be hoped that the ban doesn’t affect the Indian economy anyway.

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