India bans 47 more Chinese apps over security concerns

NEW DELHI: India has banned 47 more Chinese apps, weeks after blocking 58 Chinese apps including TikTok over national security and privacy concerns.

“We have banned 47 mobile apps from China in this ongoing exercise which highlights the government’s seriousness about data privacy and security,” the Indian official said.

The order was issued last week on Friday. Most of these 47 apps are banned for the same reasons as the earlier 59, and many were lite versions or variants of the earlier banned applications.

Tensions between both India and China soared last month after a Himalayan border clash that left 20 Indian troops dead and an unknown number of Chinese casualties.

Anti-China sentiment has soared since the deadly fight in mid-June, which sparked street protests and calls for Chinese products to be banned in the nation of 1.3 billion people.

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Around 275 other Chinese apps could also be on the chopping block over similar concerns, including the hugely popular PUBG Mobile game owned by tech giant Tencent. From toys, cosmetics, and handbags to home appliances, pharma, auto components, and steel, China exports more than 3,000 products to India.