Google restores 10 Indian apps in playstore after IT Minister Vaishnaw’s intervention

Google on Saturday restored the Indian apps it had removed from its playstore on Friday after the intervention of IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Government sources stated that the tech giant took the decision to remove 10 Indian apps following an alleged disagreement over service fee payments.

Taking cognizance of the matter, Vaishnaw asked the Google officials based in India to meet him on Monday to find the details and sort out the issue. The meeting was called to discuss a disagreement between the internet giant and certain Indian enterprises regarding non-compliance with billing standards.

Matrimony services like Bharat Matrimony and the job search app Naukri were among the impacted apps, which escalated Indian entrepreneurs’ long-standing complaints over Google’s policies, which included in-app fee charges.

Earlier, Vaishnaw expressed hope for a speedy conclusion, saying, “I hope Google would take a sensible approach. We need to safeguard the interests of our vast and expanding startup community.”

In response to an order from antitrust authorities to deconstruct the previous charge structure of 15 to 30 percent, the issue centers on attempts by Indian entrepreneurs to oppose Google’s imposition of a fee ranging from 11 to 26 percent on in-app payments. According to Google, the Play Store and Android app ecosystems are developed and promoted in part by the money it charges.