Google agrees to restore deleted Indian apps, IT minister says (updated)

Info Edge (India)

05/03/2024 10:21

(Adds minister's quote, background on app removals)
       NEW DELHI, March 5 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google
 GOOGL.O  has agreed to restore the Indian apps it deleted from
its app store after a dispute over service fee payments, India's
IT minister said on Tuesday, following pushback from the
government and startups.
    Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    The U.S. firm on Friday removed more than 100 Indian apps,
including popular ones by Matrimony.com  MATI.NS , for not
complying with its policy of paying a service fee when in-app
payment options other than Google's are used.
    The app removals sparked criticism from Indian companies,
many of which have been at odds with Google for years and
criticised its practices. Google has maintained that its in-app
fee helps develop and promote the Android and Play Store
ecosystem.
    "... We believe that in the coming months, both the start-up
community as well as Google would be able to come to a long-term
resolution," IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Reuters partner
ANI.

 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Munsif Vengattil in
Bengaluru; editing by Louise Heavens)
 ((munsif.vengattil@thomsonreuters.com;))