Foreign companies have responsibility to abide by rules, regulations issued by Indian govt: MEA

New Delhi [India], September 3 : The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday dismissed Chinese statements over Centre banning 118 more mobile apps saying that India has one of the most open regimes for FDI in the world.
"India has one of the most open regimes for FDI in the world, this includes internet companies and digital technology companies," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during the weekly virtual briefing.
"However, they have a responsibility to abide by rules and regulations issued by departments of the government of India...," he said.
His comments came in response to a question about the Chinese reaction on the recent app ban by India.
"...And particularly those rules and regulations, which pertain to data security and privacy of data. You would have seen the announcement by MeitY yesterday where they have said -- the activities that these apps have engaged in are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order," MEA spokesperson said.
"So what I can say is that we remain open, we continue to open FDI in the country including in the area of internet technology. However, we would like to say that the companies when they operate here, they have to operate in accordance with the regulatory framework of the government of India," he added.
The Chinese government on Thursday objected and expressed concerns over India's decision to ban 118 mobile applications.
Speaking at a press briefing, Gao Feng, the spokesperson of Chinese Commerce Ministry, said India has abused national security by imposing "discriminate restrictions" on Chinese companies, state-run Global Times reported.
Urging India to reconsider its move, Gao said, "China-India economic and trade cooperation yields mutual benefits."
He asserted that China has always asked its companies to comply with international and local rules and regulations in their overseas operations.
"We hope that the Indian side will work with the Chinese side to maintain hard-won bilateral cooperation and development so as to build an open and fair business environment for international investors and services providers including Chinese companies," he was quoted as saying.
The Indian government on Wednesday decided to block 118 mobile apps including PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik, WeChat Work and WeChat in view of the information available that they are engaged in activities, which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence and security of India and public order.
The decision came amid border tensions with China in eastern Ladakh and nearly two months after the government banned 59 China-linked apps.