The federal government will meet founders of startups and senior executives from Google India on Monday to listen to their views on the delisting of a number of Indian apps from the search large’s Play Retailer and discover a resolution. The assembly is scheduled to be held late within the day.

Google has, within the interim, “agreed to revive” all of the apps that it had delisted from the app market since Friday, individuals within the know mentioned.

Elevate Your Tech Prowess with Excessive-Worth Ability Programs

Providing SchoolCourseWeb site
Indian College of EnterpriseISB Skilled Certificates in Product AdministrationGo to
MITMIT Expertise Management and InnovationGo to
IIM LucknowIIML Government Programme in FinTech, Banking & Utilized Threat AdministrationGo to

Earlier within the day, communications and knowledge know-how minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned the elimination of apps in such a way couldn’t be permitted.

“India could be very clear, our coverage could be very clear … our startups will get the safety that they want,” he informed a information company. “I’ve already referred to as Google, I’ve already referred to as the app builders which have been delisted, we can be assembly them subsequent week. This can’t be permitted. This type of de-listing can’t be permitted,” he mentioned.

The federal government would work with either side to discover a resolution, a senior official informed ET.

Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar additionally questioned Google’s determination to delist the apps from its Play Retailer.

Uncover the tales of your curiosity


The elimination of apps in such a way “impacts the federal government’s aim of conserving the web open and ensuring shopper decisions aren’t distorted and there’s no market energy abuse”, Chandrasekhar mentioned. “That is an space of ongoing concern. The truth that 93-94% of all apps are on one Google Play Retailer and that’s managed by one firm which has vertically built-in dominance is an space of concern,” he mentioned.

Untitled123

Google didn’t reply to an e-mail searching for remark.

On Friday, Google eliminated a number of apps of ten main builders from its Play Retailer citing “non-compliance” with its billing insurance policies. These embrace the apps of Naukri proprietor Data Edge India, Bharat Matrimony, Folks Group’s Shaadi, relationship apps Really Madly and QuackQuack, video-streaming platform Stage, Balaji Telefilms’ Altt and audio streaming app Kuku FM.

On Saturday, a few of these apps have been restored on the app market as they agreed to stay “as consumption apps solely”, Folks Group founder Anupam Mittal mentioned in a publish on microblogging platform X.

Being solely a consumption app, which doesn’t enable in-app billing, will destroy the buyer aspect of the enterprise within the longer-term, he mentioned, responding to a tweet from Data Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani, who mentioned App Retailer had restored a lot of the firm’s apps.

The elimination of apps and permitting them again with out in-app billing will result in main losses in enterprise for them, startup founders informed ET.

“We will certainly lose main enterprise with regard to new customers and returning customers who aren’t capable of finding the app on Play Retailer. This has introduced our enterprise to a halt,” QuackQuack founder Ravi Mittal informed ET.

Corporations and builders the world over have been at odds with Google since 2021 after the tech large levied commissions as excessive as 30% for all in-app purchases. The US-headquartered firm additionally modified different insurance policies which startups claimed have been anti-competitive and damage their income.

Although Google introduced down its commissions, app builders, together with these in India, mentioned that the Play Retailer proprietor’s insurance policies remained restrictive.

The corporate, nonetheless, claims that solely ten Indian builders utilizing Google Play had chosen to not pay for the companies, whereas greater than 200,000 others adhered to its billing insurance policies.

“Permitting this small group of builders to get differential remedy from the overwhelming majority of builders who’re paying their justifiable share creates an uneven taking part in discipline throughout the ecosystem and places all different apps and video games at a aggressive drawback,” Google mentioned in a weblog publish on Friday.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here