The Indian government has clarified that TikTok will continue to be banned in the country, ending any speculation about its possible return. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for IT, Information and Broadcasting, and Railways, stated in an interview with Moneycontrol that the issue is not being discussed at any level within the government. He emphasized, “There is absolutely no proposal which has come from any quarters,” addressing rumors that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, was preparing for a re-entry. Speculation about TikTok’s return intensified last month when its website was briefly accessible on certain broadband and mobile networks, including Airtel and Vodafone. This glitch led to discussions online about a potential relaunch, but officials have confirmed that these assumptions are unfounded.
TikTok was banned in India in June 2020, along with 59 other Chinese apps, due to national security and data privacy concerns, which led to the removal of the app from Apple and Google platforms. In January 2021, the ban was made permanent. Prior to the ban, India was TikTok’s largest market, with over 200 million users creating and consuming short videos. Other products from ByteDance, such as Helo and CapCut, were also banned, and later, the music streaming app Resso was removed after being delisted from app stores. Regarding the future of Chinese investments in the Indian tech sector, Vaishnaw indicated that the government would maintain a transparent approach, stating, “We will see as it happens.
Policies will be clearly shared with everybody. We are a very transparent country.” Before the imposition of stricter regulations, major Chinese investors like Tencent, Alibaba, Ant Financial, and Shunwei Capital were significant backers of Indian startups, investing billions across various sectors. However, in April 2020, the government introduced stricter regulations for foreign direct investment (FDI) through Press Note 3, requiring prior government approval for investors from countries sharing a land border with India, effectively limiting Chinese funding. Consequently, many Indian startups have had to dilute Chinese stakes or seek alternative funding sources.
With the government’s recent statements, it is evident that TikTok’s return is not anticipated in the near future, as India prioritizes its digital sovereignty and data privacy policies over popular demand.