PLUS: Toshiba acknowledges buyout bid; BTS member Jungkook’s hat lands online seller in strife; and more
Asia In Brief India’s minister for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has insisted that the nation does not target Chinese apps for law enforcement action or bans.
“The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) does not maintain database relating to applications including Chinese applications that are under usage in India,” the minister stated [PDF] in response to a multi-pronged question about India’s treatment of Chinese apps.
In his spoken response, Chandrasekhar reportedly affirmed “We don’t ban apps or block apps based on their jurisdiction.”
Those words are somewhat at odds with India’s bans on hundreds of apps linked to China. Just last week the nation banned 232 Chinese apps, following previous bans that saw hundreds of China-linked apps banned in India – including TikTok and PUBG.
While some of India’s app bans have impacted developers headquartered outside China, the companies impacted have protested that their links to the Middle Kingdom are tenuous and/or trivial, and the bans were therefore erroneous.
The most recent bans forbade Chinese lending apps from operating in India. The nation’s Reserve Bank is reportedly close to publishing a list of such apps it believes are legitimate and safe for Indian citizens to use.
– Simon Sharwood
Toshiba has denied [PDF] press reports stating that a consortium led by investment fund Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) has submitted a final acquisition proposal.
The troubled Japanese tech giant did confirm that it received a proposal from the consortium but said it had not completed an assessment. Toshiba officials said the company will announce whether it agrees to the proposal without delay once it has made a final decision about its future.
The company has been considering offers to take it private after investor groups became fed up with ongoing internal scandals and failed plans to restructure into two, or three, separate entities. A shortlist of suitors was revealed in July 2022 and included JIP, alongside Bain, Brookfield Asset Management and CVC Capital Partners.
Analyst firm Canalys has found that India’s electric vehicle (EV) market grew by 223 percent in 2022 as 48,000 new EVs hit the nation’s roads.
Canalys automotive analyst Ashwin Amberkar attributed the growth to pent-up demand and rising consumer buying power.
“It is exciting times in the Indian market. New cars have premium infotainment, connectivity and driver assistance features, and there is a good appetite for new technology amongst premium buyers, despite potential economic headwinds,” said Amberkar.
