India removes battery apps after e-rickshaw rides stall & more related news here

Indian officials said on Friday they had removed two smartphone apps following reports that some e-rickshaws could be turned off remotely, taking advantage of a security gap in budget vehicles.

Many e-rickshaws, the battery-powered version of the popular mode of transportation in India, often use Bluetooth-enabled battery management units, made in China, that lack safety features.

In recent days, videos of people using Chinese battery management apps to remotely cut off power to e-rickshaws mid-ride have gone viral in the country.

The videos show people approaching electric rickshaws on busy streets, connecting to a vehicle’s battery system via Bluetooth and stopping it by cutting power to the engine through a discharge switch.

AFP could not independently verify whether the apps work as the videos indicate.

A senior official at the Ministry of Information and Technology, S. Krishnan, told reporters that a “couple of applications” had been brought to their attention.

“Both have been removed from the app stores,” he said.

While Krishnan did not offer additional details, local media reports said the two apps were developed in China and were called “BAT-BMS” and “Epoch Li-ion.”

Only rickshaws with Bluetooth-enabled lithium battery packs that use unsecured battery management systems were affected; not those that run on lead-acid batteries.

An e-rickshaw driver in the capital New Delhi, whose vehicle was stopped on Thursday, told AFP he was losing pay “because of these apps”.

“Yesterday my e-rickshaw stopped working. In the extreme heat of Delhi, I had to push it alone for six or seven kilometers to (the service centre) to fix the problem,” said 28-year-old Ghanshyam Kumar.

The passengers refused to pay the fare, he added.

“Such incidents have increased considerably over the past week. That’s why long queues form at the service center and we end up wasting a lot of time there too,” he said.

Delhi government Transport Minister Pankaj Singh told the Press Trust of India news agency that police would investigate the incidents.