The ban of Chinese apps in India created a lot of havoc in the country. Indians were crazy about PUBG and TikTok and spent most of their time on these two apps. The ban on these apps disappointed many Indians and some of them even got hurt mentally. Tiktok, PUBG, Shein, Shareit, Camscanner and many other Chinese apps were on the list of banned Chinese apps. However, the ban didn’t only impact the mood and routine of Indians. It also impacted and will impact the Indian economy in the long run. In order to find how the ban on Chinese apps will impact India’s economy, read the article till the end.
Ban on Chinese apps in India
Calling the ban of Chinese apps, a digital strike, the Union Minister for communication and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that these apps are engaged in activities prejudicial to user privacy and the sovereignty of India. Also considering the deadly clashes at the border stand-off, India banned a total of 118 Chinese apps including Tik-Tok, SHAREit, CamScanner, Helo etc.
In a statement, the government said, “The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately have a deep impact upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern, which requires emergency measures that were the major reason why the Government…has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices.”
China’s response to the ban
Undoubtedly, the usage of these apps was addictive, and people fell for it without even thinking about the consequences. Therefore, the ban by the government of India left the users in grief and it almost hit their mental health. People had mixed reactions to the ban. While this step of the government brought hope to the minds of some citizens. They felt that the government is not going to sit quietly if China does not respect us and will give a befitting reply to them. However, some people felt that it is a strange kind of revenge as it has left many people unemployed.
China calls this ban a violation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) guidelines of free trade. Moreover, China says this move sends a wrong message in terms of India’s openness to trade. Because of the ban on popular Chinese platforms, the consumer engagement strategies and digital marketing budgets of brands will have to be re-planned.
Unsurprisingly, as of 2020, China’s GDP is 7 times higher than that of India. Most of all, almost all the electronic devices, pharmaceutical materials, and even sewing needles are imported into India from China. Several Indian startups like Ola, Swiggy, etc, have Chinese investors, and banning the apps will impact these startups. In terms of trade, both India and China need each other.
China offers cheaper products and has a large market in India. Even the poorest of the people can afford at least one Chinese product. Banning the apps would make the Chinese unhappy and they would try to find a befitting reply for us. All this would lead to a trade war and as always, the poor will suffer. Most of all, the pandemic has already made our lives miserable and we are not ready for any of this.
Impact in India
Apart from this, due to the closure of the local offices of these apps, the ban on Chinese apps would increase unemployment in India. Numerous American counterparts of these apps available in the market would flourish and Indian apps will take time to progress. So, banning the apps would not teach China a lesson, rather harm India’s economy and it would take years for India to become self-reliant.
Moreover, the technology experts call this ban a mere signature move. They also argue that these apps have already taken the data that they wanted. If we feel that the ban of Chinese apps would teach China a lesson, we must understand this thing. At all costs, because of this, the Indian economy is likely to hurt a little more than China’s. And this way, India cannot accomplish the goal of becoming self-reliant with its hand already filled with a crumbling economy. It has also increased border tensions between India and China.
Ban on Chinese Apps in India
As the saying goes, to make a line shorter without erasing it, you must draw a bigger line next to it. In the industrial world, this saying holds relevance. To have a healthy competition, one should not try to harm his competitor, instead, try to make himself stronger, larger, and fitter. With that said, banning or eliminating a strong competitor like China, would not do any good to India and is bad for competition.