The government of India has blocked access to Krafton's battle-royale game BGMI under the same provision of its IT law which it has invoked since 2020 to ban Chinese apps on grounds of national security, according to Reuters. Section 69A of India's IT law allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security, among other reasons. Orders issued under the section are generally confidential in nature.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch and non-profit Prahar had repeatedly asked the government to investigate "China influence" on BGMI, Prahar president Abhay Mishra told Reuters. SJM is the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. "In the so-called new avatar, the BGMI was no different from erstwhile PUBG with Tencent still controlling it in the background," Mishra added.

The ban received strong online reactions from popular gamers in India on Twitter and YouTube. "I hope our government understands that thousands of esports athletes and content creators and their life is dependent on BGMI," tweeted Abhijeet Andhare, a Twitter user with more than 92,000 followers.

"We are yet to receive an official statement from the Government on the reason behind the removal of the game from the Play Store and App Store. This is between the publisher and the government and we hope this issue will be resolved soon. For ESPL, it's a wait-and-watch time to take further decisions," said Vishwalok Nath, Director of Esports Premier League.

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