India News

Chinese investors in Indian unicorns: India sitting on data trap

While the government did see the threat from the Chinese apps, it does not see any from investors from China accessing data of Indian consumers from their Indian partners.

Published

5 years ago

September 19, 2020

By Sambhav Sharma

With the ban on some 220 Chinese apps, India may have protected its sovereignty and integrity from prying Chinese eyes. But authorities, however, don’t seem to have a clue in protecting the country’s data from Chinese investors, who continue to invest in Indian apps and unicorns and gain access to data of users, who are predominantly Indian citizens. Besides the agreements between the investors and the apps are not in public forums for analysts to study it.

While the government did see the threat from the Chinese apps, it does not see any from investors from China accessing data of Indian consumers from their Indian partners. It is high time the government answer this question: Should the government continue to allow Chinese investors in Indian unicorns without adequate norms for protecting Indian users’ data?

During 2016-19, Chinese investments in Indian start-ups have grown 12 times. An India Today report listed the Alibaba Group’s strategic investments in Indian unicorns, starting from Big Basket ($250 million), Paytm.com ($400 million), Paytm Mall ($150 million), Zomato ($200 million) to Snapdeal ($700 million). Tencent, the other Chinese company, has invested in Indian firms like Byju’s ($50 million), Flipkart ($300 million), Hike Messenger ($150 million), Ola ($500 million) and Swiggy ($500 million). The investment from China seems to have fallen in 2020 following changes in the foreign direct investment rules that made prior government approval mandatory for investments from countries that share a land border with India. The Alibaba Group is among those hit by the new norms and is unlikely to sign fresh deals to fund Indian companies.

A recent Indian Express report said a Shenzen-based tech company with links to the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party is monitoring 10,000 individuals and organisations including key decision-makers like the Prime Minister, Chief of Defence Staff among others.

Given the ban on apps because they were a threat to security, the government is yet to formulate full-fledged data security norms. Cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal, who spoke to APN, said, “Chinese apps like Tiktok, Shareit were a great threat to Indian data because these apps, compared to other apps, were asking for a lot of permissions. They were generating and collecting a lot of personal data of users and sending them to servers in China which could be analysed using artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

“Any and every server anywhere is vulnerable to a potential data breach. But servers in China are highly vulnerable as China has a national cybersecurity law from 2017 and under this law, any information to servers, systems located within China could be automatically accessed or shared with the Chinese government. Hence, data on Chinese servers is not at all safe,”
-Duggal

“On the other hand, India does not have any law on data protection. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 is pending for consideration of the joint parliamentary committee. As far as data is concerned, India is a leaking ecosystem,” he said.

Economist Akash Jindal said India needs to curb Chinese investment because it’s a threat to national security. When asked about the economic impact of curbing Chinese FDI, he said if we are able to market ourselves well, we would be in a position to solicit the same FDI from other countries.

On the security implications of a potential data breach in apps/companies associated with Chinese investors, defence expert PK Sehgal said not only does India need to ban apps linked to China, but “we also need to ban companies like Tencent, Alibaba who are stealing our data”. The moment India does it, other countries will follow, he said.

Talking about modern warfare, he said predictability plays an important role in warfare and data can help to predict the enemy, hence, security implications of a data breach are manifold. Data help to carry out psycho-analysis of important personalities and how leaders are going to react in a certain situation, he said. Sehgal emphasised on the need to take cyber warfare more seriously.

“India needs to secure data as the Chinese are in a position to create chaos and mayhem in India. Through the use of artificial intelligence, China can refine data and can impact India’s financial sector, railways, power grid. Before a single bullet is fired, there may be chaos and mayhem in India,” he added.

He emphasised on the use of information, misinformation, disinformation, propaganda as the tools of modern war. Last year, an Army jawan was honey-trapped via social media and ended up sharing confidential information with Pakistani agencies. When asked about the laws/guidelines for defence personnel using apps, Sehgal added the Defence Ministry has very clear instructions that defence personnel are not supposed to have these apps, but it is tough to monitor each jawan. Jawans are the most vulnerable for a potential honey trap, Sehgal said.

Given this situation, India needs to come up with a clear and cogent policy to deal with data localisation and specific guidelines so that the data has to be dedicatedly protected, otherwise Chinese investors could impact Indian security, sovereignty and integrity.

Up Next

A day after quitting Modi cabinet, Harsimrat Kaur says farm bills not anti-farmer

Don't Miss

Schools set to restart partial work in a few states

India News

Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

2 hours ago

March 18, 2026

[email protected]

Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

Meanwhile, the western Himalayan region is also set to witness a shift in weather patterns. Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall on March 19 and 20, while Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir may experience heavy showers around March 20.

India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

4 hours ago

March 18, 2026

[email protected]

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

BJP has finalised its Assam seat-sharing plan with allies and is gearing up for an intense campaign led by PM Modi and Amit Shah.

Published

4 hours ago

March 18, 2026

[email protected]

The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front — will field candidates in 26 and 11 constituencies respectively. The distribution has been decided after internal deliberations, with the focus now shifting to candidate announcements and campaign execution.

Campaign push led by top leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies in Assam during the final leg of the campaign. Tentative dates for the rallies are April 1, April 3 and April 6, with events likely to be held in key constituencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

Candidate selection underway

The party’s Central Election Committee is currently meeting to finalise candidates. Sources indicate that approvals for most constituencies are expected soon, and the BJP may release its complete list of candidates within the next two days.

Ticket distribution remains a crucial exercise, with internal discussions highlighting its potential impact on local political dynamics. Party leaders have also touched upon the proposed delimitation exercise scheduled for 2027, which is expected to have long-term implications for Assam’s electoral landscape.