LazyPay has insisted that it is an Indian company with no Chinese links, and said it is working to resolve the issue. Photo: Facebook/lazypayindia
A government official told that the emergency blocking of lending apps Lazypay and Kisht may have been done inadvertently. Hindu,
Websites for LazyPay and installment were blocked following an emergency order by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology targeting more than 200 gambling and lending apps, most of which appeared to operate from China. The order was the result of a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Both the apps were available on the Google Play marketplace for Android smartphones till Wednesday evening. “There may be an editorial error [following] complaints against similar sounding apps,” the official said. “That error is unintentional. When it [emergency] Orders are issued, a meeting is called by a review committee, the official said. Such a committee was supposed to meet on Tuesday or Wednesday.
national security issues
The official added that even if both the apps were blocked by mistake, “there is a workaround in case something goes wrong.” LazyPay has insisted that it is an Indian company with no Chinese links, and said it is working to resolve the issue. Both Lazypay and Kisht’s parent firms said they were working to resolve the issue.
China’s apps have been banned on national security grounds over the past three years, even as the government attempts to crack down on lending and illegal betting enabled by some of these platforms. In a list of 59 apps, mostly from China, publicized by the government last year, it said they were blocked to protect the “security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace”.