Why was PUBG banned in India? Know here

India banned Chinese apps last year citing they were engaged in activities that were prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence and security of the country.

New Delhi: Amid India-China standoff at Line of Actual Control (LAC), India had banned PUBG Mobile, one of the most popular games, on September 2, 2020, along with another 117 Chinese apps. 

These apps were banned under section 69A of the Information Technology Act by the Centre citing these apps were engaged in activities that were prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence and security of the country. 

In June 2020, India had banned 47 Chinese apps which were clones of 59 Chinese apps. By November, the government had blocked 250 apps with Chinese links last year, including Alibaba Workbench, AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik, PUBG MOBILE LITE and Cam Scanner among others. 

Bedsides India, PUBG is also banned by counties like China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Korea, Jordan, Nepal, Israel and Iraq for different reasons. 

Meanwhile, the battle royale game PUBG Lite will officially shut down globally on April 29. The developers Krafton confirmed the news on the official website. "We are deeply grateful for the passion and support from the astounding number of PUBG Lite fans that have been with us. During the strenuous times of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hope that PUBG Lite was able to provide our fans a fun way to stay safe,” the statement said.

"Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to close service after much deliberation and the time has come for our journey to end. We regretfully inform you that the service of PUBG Lite is scheduled to end on April 29th, 2021 (UTC)," it added. 

However, PUBG Lite Facebook will remain operational until further notice, the developers stated.