On Saturday, March 2, Google reversed its earlier decision and agreed to restore the Indian apps removed from the Play Store over a dispute regarding the service fees. The company took this decision after its officials held a meeting with the IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Google dominates the Indian market as 94% of phones are based on its Android platform.
Following Google’s decision to remove the apps, IT Minister Vaishnaw had criticised Google for removing certain apps from its Play Store. Vaishnaw had stated that the government will not allow these apps to be delisted and has called for a meeting with Google to resolve the issue.
In a statement to PTI, the minister had said, “India is very clear, our policy is very clear. Our start-ups will get the protection that they need. I have already called Google. I have already called the app developers which have been delisted, we will be meeting them next week. This cannot be permitted. This kind of de-listing cannot be permitted.”
Earlier, on Friday, Google had removed apps belonging to 10 Indian companies, including well established brands like Bharatmatrimony and Naukri. The dispute centers around Google’s imposition of fees, up to 30%, on in-app payments. Indian companies have long protested against what they deem as unfair practices by the US tech giant. Google reasoned that these 10 Indian companies had taken advantage of the in-apps payment system without paying the due service fees.
While removing the apps, the company had said in its statement, “After giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Court’s order, we are taking necessary steps to ensure our policies are applied consistently across the ecosystem, as we do for any form of policy violation globally.”
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had also called on Google not to de-list any apps from Google Play. IAMAI said, “The affected members of IAMAI are of the view that a substantive hearing of the case is pending before the Supreme Court of India, and Google should not take any coercive action during the pendency of the case.”
In the past, the tech giant had briefly removed the Indian payments app Paytm from its Play Store citing some policy violations but later reversed its decision.