VIRTUAL STRIKE
   Date :01-Jul-2020

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AFTER the State-owned telecom companies decided to snub Chinese vendors for their network upgradation tenders, the Government has come up with the first and important retaliatory move against China by banning 59 mobile applications, including the hugely popular TikTok. The move has come amid the tense border stand-off between the armies of India and China in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. The step can bee seen as a virtual strike as apps like TikTok, UC Browser, SHAREiT and CamScanner had a huge consumer following in India. The IT Ministry has acted after receiving several reports about misuse of some apps for stealing and surreptiously transmitting users’ data to servers located outside India. Intelligence agencies had already red-flagged the Chinese apps as a threat to national security. The ban on apps may not look a strong retaliation to unsettle China, for, it would hardly affect the country’s businesses. But the ban will certainly cause ripples in the consumer segment and mobile phones from China as these apps are important components in their ecosystem.
 
ON TENTERHOOKS
 
DESPITE all the resolute efforts by Governments, scientists and medical fraternity, the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect life in many parts of the world. The world surpassed a dangerous milestone this week registering 5,00,000 confirmed deaths and 10 million confirmed cases. As countries attempt reopening of life amid the virus spread, the world fears that worse news could be yet to come. It is a global worry as the virus keeps people on tenterhooks while trying to find a golden mean between survival and living. The situation calls for extreme caution till a medical breakthrough is achieved. All claims of finding cure to the COVID-19 have been off the mark so far. It is imperative to follow the health protocols set in motion if the worse is to be defeated. Against the global backdrop, India has managed to contain the cases to a commendable level given the huge population in the country. Daily spike in cases are coming from the marked hotspots but equally noteworthy is the recovery rate that has considerably gone up. These are pointers of a good system in place to manage the patients. There is still a long way.