The government warned on Saturday that delisting Indian apps is not permissible, taking a firm stance against Google removing some apps from its Play Store. The tech giant and the affected startups have been invited to a meeting next week.
The Indian economy depends heavily on the startup ecosystem, and no large tech company should have the power to determine its future, according to IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a PTI interview.Â
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The minister’s remarks are noteworthy because, despite protests from apps and well-known startup owners, Google started deleting some apps—including well-known matrimonial apps—from its Play Store in India on Friday due to a disagreement about service fee payments.
Vaishnaw took a sober approach to the matter, stating, “Our startups will receive the necessary protection. India is very clear.” The minister stated that in order to settle the matter, the government will meet with Google and the delisted app creators the following week.
“I have already contacted Google and the delisted app developers; we will be meeting with them the following week. This is not acceptable. Vaishnaw declared that this type of delisting was not acceptable. The minister asserted that India has developed a robust startup ecosystem, with over a lakh businesses and over 100 unicorns created from scratch in just ten years, and that young people’s and entrepreneurs’ enthusiasm “cannot be left to the policies of any big tech.”
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“I will be telling Google…Our entrepreneurial energy…startups, look at the whole Startup India program; 10 years ago we had practically nothing, and today we have more than 1,00,000 startups, more than 100 unicorns. This is something—the energy of our youth, the energy of our entrepreneurs, the energy of our talented people—that has to be channeled fully well; it cannot be left to the policies of any big tech,” Vaishnaw stated.
Google claimed on Friday that ten businesses in the nation, including “many well-established” ones, had opted not to pay fees in spite of using the Play Store and platform, and they went on to remove certain apps from the store.
After the Supreme Court denied the companies behind these apps temporary relief in their fight against Google’s app marketplace tax, Google proceeded to delete the apps that had not paid the cost.
The creator of Bharat Matrimony, Murugavel Janakiraman, called the move a “dark day” for the Internet in India, while Vinod Kumar Meena, the co-founder of Kuku FM, claimed in a statement that Google was acting like a “monopoly.” Ravi Mittal, the founder of Quack Quack, promised that the business would follow the law to reenter the market.
Google has already notified Matrimony.com, the owner of the BharatMatrimony app, and Info Edge, the owner of the Jeevansathi app, of Play Store infractions. On Saturday, Info Edge (India) Ltd. announced that the Google Play Store had deleted its mobile applications, which included naukri.com, 99acres.com, and shiksha.com.
“For the time being, Indian businesses will comply. However, India needs an App Store or Play Store that is a component of the DPI, much like ONDC and UPI. Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani mentioned Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his office in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. “The response needs to be strategic,” Bikhchandani wrote.
The industry group IAMAI, which is made up of some of the biggest foreign and Indian startups, has called on Google to relist delisted apps and has denounced the removal of the apps.
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According to Google, ten Indian businesses have decided to forgo paying for the “immense value they receive on Google Play” for an extended period. It added that the Supreme Court had “refused to interfere” with Google Play’s ability to charge, saying that “no court or regulator has denied Google Play’s right to charge for years.”
Google claimed that by creating an unfair playing field where a small number of developers receive preferential treatment over the great majority of developers who pay their fair amount, all other apps and games will be at a competitive disadvantage.
“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,” Google stated.
Google stated in the blog post that, when appropriate, enforcing the policy may involve removing non-compliant apps from Google Play. However, Google also stated that it will continue “to offer our support to help developers get into compliance” and that current customers will be able to access the apps without any issues.
It stated that developers are free to resubmit their apps for listing on Play by choosing one of the three payment policies. “Today, we have over 2,00,000 Indian developers using Google Play who adhere to our policies, helping us ensure we have a safe platform; however, for an extended period of time, 10 companies, including many well-established ones, have chosen to not pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play by securing interim protections from the court,” said Google.
