Google Restores Removed Indian Apps To Play Store After Government Intervention

After Alphabet Inc’s Google removed some Indian apps from Play Store over not paying the service fee, the tech giant has reportedly stepped back from its action by restoring the apps on its platform. According to a report by NDTV, Google made the decision after the Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a discussion with the company.

Timeline reported yesterday that the search engine giant removed 10 Indian apps over an alleged violation of the billing policies. The dispute between Google and Indian app developers started when the developers alleged the US giant of exploitation and unfair charges. The Madras High Court had dismissed the start-up’s petitions earlier. The developers then approached the Supreme Court and the top Court on February 9 agreed to hear the case on March 19. However, the Court did not pass any interim order preventing the tech giant’s potential action against Indian apps.

However, the Google in its blog had said that is charging the lowest fee on Indian app developers and also helping the star-ups to go navigate through its process, adhering to all its policies. The company has one of its largest market in India.

Talking about the need to protect Indian start-ups, the IT minister before meeting the Google representatives said, “We have a very big and vibrant startup ecosystem. We should take all steps to see that this ecosystem is protected. Google has been a good adopter of Indian technologies. I am quite hopeful that Google will be reasonable with its approach.”

The apps that were affected by the tech giant’s actions included widely used apps such as Bharatmatrimony, Matrimony.com and Naukri