BGMI might be among 348 apps banned by Indian government for data sourcing to China

Last week, BGMI was taken down by both Google and Apple from their India-specific application stores. Following the takedown, it became apparent with Google's statement that the move was in compliance with the Indian government's order, and after that, several reports regarding the BGMI ban surfaced online.

As of now, the Government of India is yet to respond, as many fans are hoping that the ban will be revoked soon. However, a recent development hints at BGMI, the Indian PUBG Mobile variant, being a part of 348 applications banned by the Indian government, as a similar question was raised in the Lok Sabha.

An unstarred question (seeking a written answer from the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology) was asked by Mr. Rodmal Nagar, a BJP MP from Rajgarh constituency, on 'apps developed by China.' Readers can find the complete list of questions and their answers in the following section.

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BGMI: MoS Electronics and Information Technology answers regarding ban on several apps in India

As mentioned already, a BJP MP, Mr. Rodmal Nagar, asked an unstarred question to the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology that focused on 'apps developed by China.' The 'Unstarred Question No. 2952' included four sub-questions that focused on the following:

1. Identification of any apps sending data to another country.
2. Details and reaction of Government of India on the same.
3. Banning of such apps in the country.
4. Whether the origin of such applications' developers is China.

In response to the unstarred question, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, responded positively to identifying the applications that were sending information out of the country. He further highlighted the role of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Identification.

The answer was divided into three segments, with the first part being a positive response. The mention of 348 applications was found in the second portion of the answer, which is given as follows:

"Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has identified 348 mobile applications which were collecting users' information and transmitting it in an unauthorized manner to servers located outside the country for profiling. Based on the request from MHA, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has blocked those 348 mobile applications since such data transmissions infringes the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, and security of the State."

To further strengthen his response, he added:

"These apps are developed by various countries, including China."

The collection and transmission of user data in an unauthorized manner seems to be the primary reason for blocking the identified applications. The same reason was also at the epicenter during the recent BGMI ban, so indirectly, Mr. Chandrasekhar has hinted that Battlegrounds Mobile India might be among the 348 apps banned by the Indian government.