Indian internet companies hail govt’s decision to ban Chinese apps

Will the government’s decision to ban 59 Chinese apps trigger a mass adoption of swadeshi apps? Here is what the Indian executives are saying.

TikTok banned in India. (HT Tech)

Indian internet companies have welcomed the Indian government's decision to ban 59 Chinese applications including the likes of UC Browser, TikTok, Club Factory and more. These companies believe the move could play a big role in reviving the local tech ecosystem as well as propel the government's Digital India campaign. 

Let us take a look at who said what after the ban on the Chinese apps.

Pulkit Agrawal, Co-Founder, Trell

We are very appreciative of the bold decision the government has made, taking us closer to a new Aathmanirbhar India. This is going to change the trajectory and create a whole new revolution for our swadeshi apps. With this new move, startups like ours will play a great role in boosting the Indian economy and help build an Independent tech & startup ecosystem. We are all geared up and ready to be a part of the Digital India revolution and enable our creators to earn a sustainable income while they focus their efforts to make in India."

We are very appreciative of the bold decision the government has made, taking us closer to a new Aathmanirbhar India. This is going to change the trajectory and create a whole new revolution for our swadeshi apps. With this new move, startups like ours will play a great role in boosting the Indian economy and help build an Independent tech & startup ecosystem. We are all geared up and ready to be a part of the Digital India revolution and enable our creators to earn a sustainable income while they focus their efforts to make in India.

WATCH: TikTok, ShareIt among 59 Chinese apps banned by Modi govt

Berges Malu, Director- Public Policy, ShareChat

This is a welcome move from the government against platforms that have had serious privacy, cyber security and national security risks. We expect the government to continue their support for the Indian startup ecosystem.

Sumit Ghosh, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Chinagri App

This is a very good step taken by the Govt of India and the IT Ministry of India. For a very long time, TikTok has been spying on users and sending back the data to China. We are happy that this step has been finally taken.

I thank and congratulate Narendra Modi sir. And we assure we would like to welcome all the users of TikTok to come and try our Chingari, which is a 100% India grown app and made for the passionate Indians.

Sandeep Singh, Co - Founder & President, Khabri

We welcome government's move to ban Chinese companies in larger interest of the country. However, we strongly feel that the objective will only be fully achieved when government also consider the control, Chinese investors have in Indian companies, which from the perspective of data privacy/security will remain a leaky bucket for Indian customers data, draining to China. The move can be hugely beneficial for Indian companies considering the potential Indian startups have in terms of creating our own TIK TOK, We Chat, Baidu.

Ola has done it earlier and many others are all poised to make it big with the scale our country provides and absence of chinese competitor with deep pockets. We urge Mahindras, Tatas, Prem Ji and other Indian leading names to come forward and reclaim the country's business ecosystem and consumers through supporting/investing in Indian Startups.

Saket Modi, Co-founder & CEO, Lucideus

Every smartphone application stores user data for various purposes. While you need to give certain permissions for applications to work, the vast amount of data that applications collect and how they use it remains unknown to the users. Multiple applications in the list of 59 applications that have been blocked by the Government of India have been under the scanner for improper sharing of data and as per the statement from the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology - it had received an "exhaustive recommendation" from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

This is where users need to be extensively aware of the applications they use and the kind of data that particular app takes. The industry and customers need to shift their focus to real-time, objective and proactive cybersecurity awareness which not only educates users of various on-going cybersecurity challenges, but also educates them on how to securely use certain applications. This will bring in a huge change around how to “securely use our smartphones” and a ‘security first' mindset.

Mr. Ankit Chaudhari, Co-founder, Aiisma

It's a move that has suddenly spurred a consumer tech product race in the Indian startup ecosystem & the talent really seems to understand that the sheets volume of users can catapult such Indian ventures on to an international stage. Indian origin angel Balaji rightly put it - “Read AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee. China started by cloning US apps first, then began innovating. They were protected by national barriers while doing so.

So: there is no shame whatsoever in getting started by cloning things that work, then differentiating over time.