India, July 11 -- Amid the ongoing row over WhatsApp's username feature, the IT ministry (MeitY) is reportedly formulating uniform standards for messaging platforms operating in the country.

A government official told Hindustan Times that the common standards will look to oversee social media features and build a "legal backing" for stopping the rollout of such offerings. In effect, the upcoming rules aim to close a regulatory gap that allows rivals to offer the username feature even as the Centre clamps down on WhatsApp and Telegram over similar offerings.

"We are also looking at bringing in common standards for messaging platforms so there is legal backing for such decisions. It cannot be that we stop one platform from rolling out a f...