According to the government, over 2,200 fraudulent loan apps have been suspended or removed from Google's Play Store between September 2022 and August 2023, as outlined in a written statement issued by the government on Tuesday. 

As per a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said the government has been in constant contact with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other regulators and stakeholders to control fraudulent loan apps. 

Based on the information provided by MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), it seems that Google has reviewed about 3,500 to 4,000 loan apps between April 2021 and July 2022 and has suspended or removed over 2,500 of those apps from its Play Store during this period. 

It was stated that the Reserve Bank of India has released a set of regulatory guidelines that aim to strengthen the regulatory framework for digital lending and to make sure the customer's safety and well-being are protected, as well as ensuring a safe and secure digital lending ecosystem so that, ultimately, a more secure digital lending environment can be created. 

Several regulatory guidelines have been issued by the Reserve Bank of India on digital lending, according to the minister, aimed at strengthening the regulatory framework for digital lending, improving customer protection, and making the digital lending ecosystem a safer and healthier place to operate. 

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been continuously analysing digital lending apps, he said. The Minister of State of Finance, MoS Karad, revealed that the government has been actively working with regulatory authorities like the Reserve Bank of India to reduce the number of illegal loan apps in the country. 

To mitigate vulnerabilities in the Indian financial system, Karad stressed the need for timely action by the Indian government to maintain cybersecurity preparedness. According to him, one of the efforts in this regard had been the RBI sharing with MeitY an exclusive list of 442 unique digital lending applications for whitelisting, a list which had also been shared with Google and was part of a similar effort. 

In the preceding two and a half years of collaborating with the tech giant, MeitY has removed or suspended over 4,700 fraudulent loan apps from the Google Play Store due to its collaboration with MeitY. The purge was carried out between April 2021 and July 2022 by Karad. After that, another 2,200 apps were removed between September 2022 and August 2023 by Karad. 

As per Karad, about 2,500 loan apps were taken down between April 2021 and July 2022. In addition to that, the minister also pointed out that Google has implemented stricter policies regarding the enforcement of loan apps on its Play Store, only allowing those apps that are created by regulated entities or those that are affiliated with them. 

Aside from this, it was also mentioned that the RBI has issued regulatory guidelines on digital lending in tandem with the actions mentioned above, to enhance customer protection in the digital lending ecosystem by strengthening the regulatory framework and fortifying oversight. As part of its efforts to combat cybercrime, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) is actively monitoring digital lending applications under the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

A national cybercrime reporting portal and a dedicated helpline number have been established by the union home ministry to give citizens the ability to report cybercrime incidents, including those related to illegal loan apps. 

The government of India and the Reserve Bank of India have undertaken several awareness initiatives, such as social media safety tips, educational handbooks, and campaigns to combat cybercrime, as part of their efforts to raise public awareness. 

According to the minister, the government will maintain vigilance, take regulatory actions, and conduct awareness campaigns, including e-BAAT, electronic banking awareness and training (e-BAAT) programs run by the Reserve Bank of India, to combat cybercrimes, particularly those relating to fraudulent loan apps. 

Since JanSamarth launched its portal at the end of last year, more than 1,83,903 beneficiaries have applied for loans via the JanSamarth portal, reaching a total of more than 2,10,000 beneficiaries. During 2022-23, Karad reportedly reported 7,25 cases of fraud related to UPI in a separate response. In total, there were 573 crores involved in these fraud cases, which amounts to a large amount of money.