A notice from the National Informatics Center(NIC) has been doing rounds on the internet and WhatsApp groups claiming that the Indian government has banned few Chinese apps from the Play Store and Apple store breaching privacy rules of the nation. The government has denied a social media report claiming that the notice is forged, and no such instruction has been given. This comes in light because of the ani-China sentiments going high in the Indian society after the death of Indian soldiers in Galwan valley. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which oversees the NIC, has rejected any claim made in the report. The report claims that NIC has directed regional representatives of Apple and Google to take down the mentioned apps from the Store as they pose a risk of compromising the sovereignty of the country and breach the privacy rules of the country. The notice lists applications like TikTok, VMate, Vigo Video, LiveMe, Bigo Live, Beauty Plus, CamScanner, Club Factory, Shein, Romwe, and AppLock. The list also includes famous games like Mobile Legends, Clash of Kings, and Gale of Sultans. The list has a total of 14 applications that were violating the rules and were putting the privacy of the user at risk. Many messages have been doing rounds to use Indian manufactured products from local business people and companies rather than buying Chinese goods. People all around the nation have come forward to restrict Chinese brands. China has a significant investment in the Indian IT sector, and it could be a massive blow for the country. Its penetration is so deep that a national channel was recently conducting a debate on banning Chinese goods in India, which was sponsored by Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo. It has become an essential issue for the nation. Google recently removed apps like Remove China Apps form the Playsotre developed by an Indian developer. It scanned the device for Chinese apps and deleted them. Another app called Mitron surfaced on the Playstore, which was also taken down, is the Indian version of the famous app TikTok. These applications had multiple downloads in the Indian market and were topping the Play store charts in just a few weeks.
