India bans 47 Chinese 'clone' mobile apps; TikTok Light, Cam Scanner Advance included

India has banned 47 Chinese apps which were clones of 59 Chinese apps which were banned in June. The banned clone apps include Tik Tok Light and Cam Scanner Advance. The order to ban 47 Chinese 'clone' apps Order was issued on Friday (July 24). The Centre has taken the decision at a time when it has already tighten rules for Chinese companies to invest in India. 

Few days ago, the Centre had amended General Financial Rules 2017 making it difficult for Chinese companies to be part of Indian public procurement.

The order said,"Any bidder from countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services (including consultancy services and non-consultancy services) or works (including turnkey projects) only if the bidder is registered with the Competent Authority."

The Competent Authority for registration will be the Registration Committee constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Political and security clearance from the Ministries of External and Home Affairs respectively will be mandatory.

On June 29, India had banned 59 Chinese apps including popular Tik Tok app after a violent face-off at Line Of Actual Contol in Eastern Ladakh in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred.

A statement from the government had said that the apps are 'engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order'.

"It has been noted recently that such concerns also pose a threat to sovereignty and security of our country. The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources including several reports about the 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," the statement read.