India bans more Chinese apps from Xiaomi, Baidu including Mi Browser Pro: Sources

Government has reportedly widened its Chinese app ban to include more apps from Xiaomi and Baidu such as Mi Browser Pro. However, it is yet to reveal its formal decision on the same.

As per reports, there are a few apps that have made it to the barred list but the government has not made its decision public unlike its previous announcements. 

The Union IT Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi refused to respond on the matter.  China had previously criticised India's decision to ban Chinese apps. India has banned a total of 106 Chinese apps. 

Key Highlights 

• India has banned few mobile apps of Chinese companies such as Xiaomi and Baidu. This was reported by some sources to Reuters on August 5, 2020. 

• The Government has not made its latest decision public but reportedly some of the apps that have made it to the banned list include Baidu's search apps and Xiaomi's Mi Browser Pro.

• However, it is not currently clear exactly how many new apps have been affected by the new ban. 

• The Mi Browser comes pre-loaded on most Xiaomi smartphones. Hence, its ban could potentially mean that the Chinese company will need to stop installing it on the new devices that it sells in India.

• A Xiaomi spokesperson in India commented saying that the company is still trying to understand the development and will take appropriate measures. Baidu has declined to comment on the matter.

• Xiaomi is India's top smartphone seller with almost 90 million users, as per Hong Kong-based tech researcher Counterpoint.

Background

India had banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok in its first major digital strike against China following the violent standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. India later followed up by banning 47 more clone apps of the earlier banned apps including TikTok lite, ShareIt lite. 

India banned the apps stating that they threaten the nation's "sovereignty and integrity." The banned list included Xiaomi's Mi Community app, Alibaba's UC Browser and ByteDance's video-sharing platform TikTok.

Besides the app ban, India has also made approval processes more strict for Chinese companies looking to invest in the country. It has also tightened the norms for Chinese companies wanting to participate in government tenders.