The Modi government has banned another 54 Chinese apps citing them as a threat to national security. The apps that were banned this time include Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera, Equalizer & Bass Booster, CamCard for SalesForce Ent, Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Chess, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock, and Dual Space Lite among others.
In the wake of the Galwan standoff, the government 59 Chinese apps in 2020. Later in September last year, another 118 apps were banned. This is the third time the Indian government has banned a list of Chinese apps for being thereat to the National Security of the country.
Read More: India bans TikTok and 58 other Chinese Apps. CCP is riled up. And the World must follow suit
Before the government pulled out the Chinese apps in 2020, Chinese apps used to flourish in India and other countries as well. According to App Annie data, in May 2020, 50 per cent of the top 10 app publishers across all segments were Chinese.
The Chinese gaming app PUBG, for instance, was an overnight sensation with over 34 million Indians playing daily and downloads hit over 175 million. Indian publishers had only a 20 per cent share and, the top was NIC, thanks to the Arogya Setu app.
TikTok dominated the social media space and successfully took on Facebook with its short videos with over 119 million subscribers in a short period.
Indian Apps made the best of the Chinese App ban
However, despite the worldwide craze for Chinese apps like Tiktok, PubG and many more, China had to face a huge setback after India pulled out their apps. The market share of Chinese apps in India has dropped substantially from 44 per cent in 2018 to only 29 per cent in 2020, as per a China Internet Report 2021 (by South China Morning Post).
Read More: From 20% in 2020 to 60% in 2021 – How Indian Apps made the best of Chinese App ban
With the fall of Chinese apps in the market, Indian publishers managed to get a larger share of the ranking. Based on the latest September data of App Annie, Indian Publishers who only had a 20 per cent share in 2020, are currently holding 60 per cent of the top ten apps in India including MX Taka Tak, Moj, ShareChat, Josh and Public among others.
Moreover, the App Annie report has also referred to India as the top market globally for social app downloads among various categories of social, social networking and communication across iOS and Google Play in H1 2021. The report stated that India is the top market by a factor of 5x, surpassing the US in 2018.
The Modi government is making a very coordinated response to the Chinese economic and security policies. As India becomes capable in any sector, imports from China (digital or physical) are instantly banned. This was followed in the case of apps, drones, solar panels and many more sectors are expected to follow.
