PUBG Among 275 Chinese Apps To Be Possibly Banned In India

After banning more than a hundred Chinese applications in the country, the government of India has red-flagged about 275 more apps. These apps are under radar and have a possibility of meeting the same fate as the previous ones. The infamous royale battle game, PUBG, is one of the apps with a hanging future in the country.

In June, the government of India banned 59 Chinese apps including the widely used TikTok, Shein, and CamScanner. The Centre had said these apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order.”

Recently the government has banned 47 more apps that apparently clone for the ones banned last month. TikTok Lite, Helo Lite, Shareit Lite and Bigo Live Lite, are some of the banned clones. However, a full list of these applications hasn’t been released yet.

Also Read: Wife Seeks Divorce After Husband Stops Her From Playing PUBG

Last week the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) warned the Chinese firms of the continued availability and functioning of the banned apps. The direct or indirect presence of these apps is an offence under the IT Act and other applicable Acts.

According to a report by The Economic Times, the country has drawn up a new list comprising of as many as 275 red-flagged Chinese apps. These will be examined for any violation of national security. The list, reviewed by ET, includes PUBG, Zili, and AliExpress. Earlier this month, Pakistan too banned the battle royale game due to complaints from different sectors of the society.

What you should know

• The government of India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok in June following military tensions with China.
• Recently the government banned 47 more Chinese apps. These apps functioned as clones of the previously banned apps.
• 275 more Chinese apps have come under radar. Speculations are that PUBG is one of them and could be banned.

Chinese Internet services have around 300 million distinct users in India. This suggests that almost two-thirds of the country's smartphone users have downloaded a Chinese app.

A branch of South Korean video game company Bluehole developed PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds, more commonly called PUBG. It was later that China’s multinational conglomerate, Tencent, took over as its distributor and later brought it to India.

Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates PUBG Mobile has doubled its total sales to over $3 billion worldwide in just over seven months. Furthermore, India is the largest market for gaming app PUBG, generating 175 million installs up to date. This comprises 24% of the total downloads of the app.

Sanya Khatri, one of India’s top two women gamers expresses her concern over the issue. She told SheThePeople, “This won't be a wise decision according to me as the gaming community has just started flourishing in India. Ending something which is on the way to prosperity would end the hopes and dreams of hundreds of thousands of people who are thinking of pursuing this as a career.”

Also Read: Sanya Khatri On What It’s Like Being A Woman PUBG Player In India

Bhavya Gupta is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.