In the third round of what Indian Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called the “digital strike against China”, India has banned 15 more apps that originate from China.
These apps include photo editor AirBrush, video tool MeiPai, camera editor BoXxCAM and the Mi Browser, that comes as part of Xiaomi smartphones and is widely used by Indian users.
The majority share of the world’s second largest smartphone market, India is dominated by Chinese tech player Xiaomi who is aggressive in its launches and offers advanced handsets at affordable prices. In July, market analysis firm Canalys had noted that Xiaomi shipped 5.3 million smartphones between April and June.
“Xiaomi continues to comply and adhere to all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law. We are working towards understanding the development and will take appropriate measures as required. As part of the process, we will work with key stakeholders for an opportunity to make our submissions", the media quoted a Xiaomi spokesperson as commenting on the ban.
The search engine by Baidu, China’s equivalent to Google has made it to the fresh app ban list. The central government has directed network providers to block them at the earliest date.
A total of 20 Indian soldiers were killed in brutal hand-to-hand combat on 15 June, as Indian and Chinese troops accused each other of encroaching upon the territory along the loosely demarcated 4,057-km Line of Actual Control that divides the two countries.