New Delhi (NVI): India today said that it will continue to welcome foreign investments in India, including in the area of internet technologies, but this will have to be in accordance with the rules and regulatory framework established by the Government.
While addressing a virtual press conference here, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that all software and internet applications companies are have been welcomed in the country, under an investor-friendly regime, but they have to abide by rules and regulations issued by the relevant Ministries and Departments, including those pertaining to data security and privacy of individual data.
Srivastava, while replying to questions on the banning of Chinese mobile applications said that the concerned ministry (Ministry of Information and Technology) would have an appropriate explanation, but indirectly implied that the move is not going to have any negative effects as the “world’s largest software and internet applications companies are present in India.”
“India has one of the most open regimes in the world for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In the last few years, Government has taken a host of measures for creating of a more investor-friendly regime. Similarly in the area of digital technology and internet, India has adopted a very open regime. India is today one of the world’s largest markets for digital and internet technologies with more than 680 million subscribers,” he said.
To recall, the Indian Government on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat, Shareit, while citing the “emergent nature of threats” from mobile applications. The Ministry of Information and Technology on Monday said that it has banned the apps based on the information that they were engaged in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence, security and public order” in India.
India and China are currently locked in a bitter standoff at multiple locations in Eastern Ladakh, especially after the June 15 violent clash between the Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.
-ARK
