Indian Apps welcome Govt’s move to ban PubG and other Chinese Apps
The Ministry of Information and Technology on September 2, 2020, banned PUBG and 117 other widely popular Chinese mobile applications. This comes after the Indian Government banned 59 apps on June 29th and followed it up with a second crackdown almost a month later by banning 47 more apps that cloned the apps previously restricted in India.
PUBG Mobile has a following in millions in the country and this will mount to a big loss for Tencent, the parent company. The Indian tech sector on the other hand is welcoming this brave move by the Government with both hands and here is what they had to say.
Mr. Ravi Mittal, Founder of the popular dating app QuackQuack that recently crossed 10 million Indian users commented “Suspension of Chinese apps which are a security risk to our country is a welcome move. There are few of more Chinese apps on the Play Store which are cannibalizing the Indian market and need to go. These include a lot of Chinese duplicates and low quality apps as well. However, this is a welcome start. The Indian start-up ecosystem has some very good apps and can easily fill the void. We have to reduce dependency on Chinese apps and it is encouraging that we as Indians are going all out to support apps developed in India”
The app is the desi alternative to Chinese dating apps like Tantan & WeMeet and is performing quite well among the desi millennial crowd.
Apart from this the Indian gaming sector is also very active and vocal about the Government’s decision and they have expressed their support unanimously for it.
On the Government’s decision Mr. Varun Mahna, CEO & Founder of PokerDangal, an online gaming app says “A reiterate step like this in favor of our Nation’s sovereignty is a masterstroke I must say, India again won its spurs as one of the independent nations. We can finally say now that India is moving quickly towards being a developed nation, and brave steps like these show how strong we are on the abstraction of ‘MAKE IN INDIA.’ Like I said earlier, abolishing Chinese applications will not only preserve our nation’s security and youth development but will also allow capable Indian growing platforms like ours’ to come forward and show their true potential. Honestly, we are obliged to our government and believe that Indians will now prioritize native platforms over foreign ones, which will enable us to showcase our creativity, talent, and strong motives to serve the society in a better way. I can’t say about others, but PokerDangal and our entire team appreciates the ban of Chinese apps and is inclined to contribute our pleasing services more delightfully in respect of the progressing movement ‘MAKE IN INDIA'”.
The current scenario has also become very beneficial for these Indian apps as they now have access to a growing domestic ecosystem which has a home grown market of billions of people.
“We welcome the action taken by the government against various apps that are potential security risks for Indian users. Within the gaming sector, while legitimate Indian companies operate in accordance with Indian regulations and pay taxes, there are still quite a few foreign companies operating illegally. In recent weeks one Chinese owned online gambling syndicate was busted and companies like Linkyun, Dokypay and Beijing Tomorrow Power were shut down, 47 cr was confiscated by the government. Even now, there are illegal foreign companies like PP Poker and GG Poker operating in India and illegally taking money from Indians and sending it abroad – we hope the government cracks down on these as well. These companies aren’t paying any taxes in India or following any Indian regulations, and there is no way for customers to get their dues if they’re cheated. They’re not members of industry self-regulatory bodies like All India Gaming Federation or the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports. They either have direct Chinese ownership or opaque ownership structures which possibly lead back to China” says Mr. Sudhir Kamath, CEO, 9Stacks, another online gaming app.
The decision might seem harsh on the PubG players but is beneficial in the larger interest of the nation. People will be angry for some time but the India tech industry is hopeful that they will have good home grown options shortly.
Mr. Yash Pariani, CEO, Indian Gaming League (IGL) shares his views saying “This may seem like a loss to the Esports community, however, in the interest of national security, the country must take whatever precautions they deem necessary. There are plenty of other games to fill the void for PUBG and IGL have started capitalising on the recent surge of demand for these other games as soon as the ban was announced. Games such as Call of Duty(COD) Mobile, Free Fire and Fortnite may see a surge in users in India. While we may see some players move to other platforms such as PUBG PC, the majority who prefer the mobile version will be sticking to similar games on the same platform which would be COD Mobile. This will affect millions of gamers, it will have the same effect as it did when TikTok was banned for the influencers that had made a living from that platform, however, for the time being, we will see PUBG influencers and players switching to other games to make a living, it may be a set back for them but eventually, their audiences will also respond to the change. With this ban in effect, we may even see a version of the game that the audiences have grown to know and love, be developed here itself from India.”
Mobile Premier League comes on board as the presenting sponsor for COLORS’ Bigg Boss 2020
