How Modi made IT ministry burn the midnight oil to ban Chinese apps

NEW DELHI: The decision to ban Chinese origin apps including TikTok and WeChat, just ahead of the third round of talks between Indian and Chinese military commanders, saw the information and technology ministry work through the night to put together the extensive paperwork needed for the unprecedented measures.

As the blinds were pulled across the windows in IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s office to ensure the flurry of activity was not noticed, top officials worked on a specific brief from Prime Minister Narendra Modi: The ban must be announced before the talks began. The ministry brass, along with law officials, finished the paperwork just in time.