New Delhi, 3 July

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has ordered the removal of three Chinese applications — BAT-BMS, Lossigy and Epoch-i-ion — from Indian app stores after they were allegedly misused to remotely disable battery-operated e-rickshaws across the country, reported PTI, citing government sources.

The action follows a series of videos that surfaced showing e-rickshaws being rendered inoperable through a remote shutdown feature linked to the Chinese smartphone application BAT-BMS. The videos triggered widespread concern over the cybersecurity risks posed by internet-connected vehicle management systems used in e-rickshaws.

The government has warned that any other application found to be misused in a similar manner will also be blocked.

IT Secretary S Krishnan, speaking on the sidelines of a CII Cybersecurity summit in New Delhi, confirmed that the apps had been taken down. "There are a couple of apps which came up to our notice yesterday. Both of them have been taken down from the app stores," Krishnan said.

He added that app stores have a responsibility to ensure that applications made available to users do not pose risks to public safety or facilitate unlawful activities. "The idea is that this is due care that the app stores have to exercise and we will take it up with the app stores to see that possibly damaging apps do not come up," he said.

Complaints from e-rickshaw operators about unexplained disruptions and sudden stoppages prompted the Centre to examine the matter. Authorities found that the applications were allegedly being used to interfere with the functioning of certain e-rickshaws, causing unexpected interruptions and raising safety concerns for both drivers and passengers.

The government has not officially disclosed further technical details about the mechanism through which the apps allegedly enabled remote shutdowns.

India has seen rapid growth in the use of e-rickshaws as an affordable and environmentally friendly mode of transport, particularly for last-mile connectivity in urban and semi-urban areas. The proliferation of smartphone-based vehicle management systems has, however, also increased the potential for misuse through malicious or poorly regulated applications.

The government has not ruled out further action against other applications if similar misuse is identified.