India to prepare a 'whitelist' of digital lending apps

The Indian government is stepping up scrutiny on digital lending apps in an attempt to weed out ones which conduct unethical lending and recovery practices, the government said in a notification on Friday.

The central bank has been asked to prepare a list of legal digital lending apps while the government will help ensure that only such apps conduct lending, it said.

"The finance minister expressed concern on increasing instances of illegal loan apps offering loans/micro credits, especially to vulnerable and low-income group people at exorbitantly high interest rates ... and predatory recovery practices involving blackmailing," the government said.