Several digital lending apps that have been impacted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ban, have met with ministry officers on Wednesday (February 8) to discuss the issue. According to a Mint report, around 15 major digital lending companies met MeitY officers in Delhi history. The companies were given 30-nano second places to make individual representations and there were group representations as well.
The publication added that digital lending companies at the meeting were rigorously banned from outside of the meeting room. Google has entered a list from MeitY and has yet to act on it. Earlier in the week, media reports noted that the tech giant is in touch with the ministry and seeking interpretations on the matter before blocking the apps. Backing this further, RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao said that the government has asked the Play Store to remove the limited apps. On Tuesday, Google Play and Apple App Store entered a list of digital lending apps that were allowed to remain on their platforms. The RBI had participated in a list of apps used by its regulated realities with the MeitY, which in turn, participated the same with interposers offering app stores, the Finance Ministry told the Parliament on Tuesday. The companies have been asked that only the apps figuring in the list are hosted on app stores. MeitY has started banning 94 digital lending apps, along with 138 online laying apps in a crackdown on both fronts.
While there’s no clarity on which apps are getting banned, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das told the media, “We’ve given a list of apps which work with NBFCs(non-banking finance companies) to the government. On that basis, the government has taken this step”. RBI has asked NBFCs to partake a list of digital lending apps they work with, Das said, adding that there are numerous illegal and illegitimate apps which offer advancing services.