Google removed a bunch of Indian apps from its digital market called Play Store. One day following the incident, the company restored a portion of them once they adhered to its policies.
After this action of Google, the Indian government reached out to the company to reverse the action. The Information Technology (IT) minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said, “I spoke to Google yesterday after their action and have asked them not to delist apps like this, and they have started allowing some apps back. On Monday I will have a meeting with Google and the start-ups on this topic.”
Shaadi.com is among the many apps that were removed by Google from the Play Store. Anupam Mittal the founder of the app has also reacted in the matter and said, Google reinstated the apps only after they removed all in-app payment modes to adhere to Google’s policies.
List of Apps Removed by Google
Here’s the list of apps removed by Google from the Play Store with the names of their operators:
Name of the Application | Operators |
---|---|
Naukari | Sanjiv Bikhchandani |
99Acres | Sanjiv Bikhchandani |
Stage | Vinay Singhal |
Info Edge | Sanjeev Bikhchandani |
BharatMatrimony | Murugavel Janakiraman |
Truly Madly | Sachin Bhatia |
QuackQuack | Ravi Mittal |
Altt | Ekta Kapoor |
Kuku FM | Lal Chand Bisu |
Shaadi.com | Anupam Mittal |
Why Google Removed Indian Apps from Play Store?
Google removed 10 Indian Apps from the Play Store for not following it’s app billing policy over an extended duration. The tech-giant claimed that this move forms part of the policy aimed at removing their apps from the Google Play store.
Google charges a significant amount as service fee from the app that ranges from 11 % to 26 % on in-app transactions. Nevertheless, some Indian startups resisted Google’s fee structure, driven by directives from the country’s antitrust authorities to revise its earlier fee system, which levied charges ranging from 15-30 percent.
Several App developers filed a petition in the Madras High Court but was rejected by the court. The petition stated that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is tasked with assessing whether Google is undermining its market position. Last month, the Supreme Court turned down a petition to prevent Google from delisting the apps, though it is still deliberating on the matter.