Govt Revokes Ban Orders On Some Digital Lending Apps

Media reports suggest that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Friday started revoking bans on some digital lending apps including LazyPay and Kissht. The ministry has issued orders to ISPs and Google to revoke the blockage enforced. 

The move from the government reportedly came as the loan platforms submitted the documents to support their claim that they were regulated players.

The IT ministry began the process of banning 138 betting apps and 94 lending apps, which reportedly had Chinese links.

Amongst the blocked apps under Section 69 of the IT Act were fintech firms such as LazyPay and Kissht.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had recently said, “We asked the NBFCs to give us a list of the apps they use for lending purposes. We have given that list to the government. And, the government has taken this step based on the list that we have provided.”

Some media reports suggest that the IT ministry had given the banned digital apps 48 hours to submit documents to prove regulated play.

About 15 digital lending companies had reportedly met MeitY officials in Delhi on 8 February to discuss the issue of the ban.