What Is The Impact of The Ban of The Chinese Apps in India 2020?
India and China tension over LAC (Line of Actual Control) is an open secret. Amidst the rising tension, PM Narendra Modi-led government banned 59 Chinese mobile applications by releasing the official statement, in which it is said that the apps are “engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order.”
Among the 59 Chinese apps, which were banned on 29th June 2020 include TikTok, UC Browser, file sharing app, ShareIt, Cam Scanner, and others.
The ban on the chinese apps will definitely create a space for indigenous mobile app development companies.
The decision was made after a violent clash, which took place on June 15th 2020 at LAC, in which 20 soldiers were martyred.
Though, in an official press release, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asserted that it had received “many complaints from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India”.
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# The Major Chinese Applications and Their User Base In India: -
As per the report by Techcrunch, all the 59 Chinese apps together have installed base of more than 330 million till June 2020, and active monthly users were 505 million. Among all the apps, Tik Tok had more than 200 million monthly active users in India and is considered the biggest casualty till now.
# Let us move ahead how and in what way the major Chinese app players get affected by this ban.
1) Tik Tok:
Parent Company – ByteDance
Total Download Till April 2020 – 2 billion
India’s Share – 30% of Total Download
How Much Does It Cost - $6 billion USD
2) SHAREit:
Parent Company – SHAREit Technologies
No of Users in India – 400 million
Employees in India – 133
3) UC Browser:
Parent Company – UC web Singapore Pte Ltd.
No. of Users in India – 130 million
4) Helo:
Parent Company – ByteDance
No. of Users in India – 50 million
5) Bigo:
Parent Company – Bigo Technology Pte Ltd.
No. of Downloads – 400 Million
6) YouCam Perfect:
Parent Company – Perfect Corp
No. of Users in India – 3.5 Million
7) MI Community:
Parent Entity – Xiaomi
No. of Users in India – 10 Million
Also Read: How mobile applications can transform your business in a new way?
# Other Chinese Apps Which Are Banned in India Are Mentioned Below:-
The ban on these applications has paved the slippery road for startups in India. According to Gateway House, 18 out of 30 startups have Chinese funding.
With this ban on Chinese apps, several various upcoming and innovative startups got affected including, $16 billion payment giant Paytm, which is backed by Ant Financial. Another is Byju’s, which is also financed by China’s Tencent.
# What is The Impact of Chinese Apps Ban on India?
There were many apps that were quite popular among users. One of the best examples is Tik Tok and SHAREit. Both these apps had millions of monthly active users in India. The former enables a user to make 15 seconds videos while the later helps users easily share a huge size of files within a few seconds.
Indian alone has 30% of the total active users of Tik Tok. There are several creators for who it was their only source of income. Many of these apps even have their physical presence in India with Indian employees. This decision could bring thousands of jobs at stake.
On the other hand, this decision will surge the demand of developing mobile apps like Tik Tok. It will also open new ways for native startups and small entrepreneurs.
On the other hand, Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Dean, Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy believes that this decision induces Indian technologists to meet the strong demand for similar products.
“The ban has only created a supply imbalance in the market, which will attract Indian startups to feel the void. Also, our technological research has reached a level wherein designing such products indigenously should not be a challenge at all,” explained Suman Chakraborty.
# Alternatives of Banned Chinese Apps in India:-
59 Chinese Apps including,Tik Tok and others, are removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Here are some alternatives to these apps which you can use:
# Short Video Indian Apps like Tik Tok
- Mitron
- Bolo Indya
- Ropso
- Dubsmash
- Instagram Reels
# Social Media Apps like WeMeet, We Chat
# File Sharing Apps like SHAREit
- FilesGo
- Send Anywhere
- Google Drive
- Dropbox
# Alternative of Mobile Web Browsers Like UC Browser:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Opera
- Jio Browser
# Shopping Apps like Club Factory:
- Myntra
- Flipkart
- Amazon
- LimeRoad
# Scanning Mobile Applications
- Adobe Scan
- Microsoft Office Lens
- Photo Scan
- Tap Scanner
Previously, a couple of months back, Tik Tok got banned on the order of Madras High Court, but it returned in no time. But this time, things are different. All the Chinese apps are banned on the ground of National security, which means, it is a clean warning to numerous bigger Chinese companies and businesses in India, and to China itself.
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