Google reinstates some delisted Indian apps on Play Store

Hours after it pulled down Indian apps from the Play Store, Google reinstated some of the applications on the platform on Saturday.

On Friday, the big tech company began delisting mobile apps including Info Edge India’s naukri.com, 99 acres.com, and shiksha.com as well as People Group’s popular matrimony app Shaadi.com for not complying with Google’s app billing policy.

Info Edge India founder and vice-chairman Sanjeev Bikhchandani confirmed the news of reinstatement on X, previously Twitter.

Many of the Info Edge apps are back on the play store. An effort very well led by Hitesh and the entire Info Edge team. People were up all night for this. Great crisis management https://t.co/2VbI0JmHuY

— Sanjeev Bikhchandani (@sbikh) March 2, 2024

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Earlier today, Info Edge said that the action came as a surprise as it was taken without giving due and sufficient notice by Google.

The apps, however, delisted from Play Store, were still available to users who already had them downloaded to their phones.

‘App delisting cannot be permitted’

IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw earlier today slammed Google for pulling down Indian apps from its platform, saying delisting of Indian apps cannot be permitted as the Indian startup ecosystem is an integral part of the economy and that their fates cannot be left to big tech companies to decide.

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“India is very clear, our policy is very clear…our startups will get the protection that they need,” Vaishnaw told PTI.

VIDEO | Here's what Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) said on #Google removing multiple apps from Play Store. #PTIExclusive

"India is very clear, our policy is very clear...our start-ups will get the protection that they need. I have already called Google, I… pic.twitter.com/mKZSV2QflF

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 2, 2024

“I have already called Google…I have already called the app developers who have been delisted, we will be meeting them next week. This cannot be permitted. This kind of delisting cannot be permitted,” the minister said at the time.

Which other apps have been delisted?

Apart from apps run by Info Edge and People’s Group, some other mobile applications like Matrimony, streaming platforms Altt, Stage, and Aha, dating apps Truly Madly and Quack Quack, audio content platform Kuku FM, and social networking app FRND were also pulled down from Play Store.

The dispute is over Google imposing a fee of 11-26 per cent on in-app payments after anti-competition body CCI ordered the scrapping of an earlier system of charging 15-30 per cent.

Google went ahead to remove the apps not paying the fee after the Supreme Court did not provide interim relief to companies behind these apps in their battle against the search giant’s platform fees.

With inputs from agencies