NEW DELHI: Government made Google smoke the peace pipe, temporarily, over its tussle with homegrown app developers on commissions charged for in-app payments. The tech giant has agreed to reinstate all Indian apps that it had abruptly delisted from its Play Store on Friday.
Read More: India on Path to Become Top Economy from Being Fragile Before 2014, Inflation Below 5%: Amit Shah
While communications and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the two sides will now engage to thrash out a long-term solution, Google made clear that it was “temporarily reinstating the apps” as appeals were pending in the SC.
“Google has agreed to re-list the apps with the same status as on Friday, March 1,” Vaishnaw said on Tuesday, a day after he and minister of state Rajeev Chandrasekhar met the aggrieved Indian app community to sort out the matter.
“We have spoken to both Google as well as the startup community…Google and India’s startup community will engage with each other to find a long-term solution to all issues in consonance with India’s legal framework. We acknowledge Google’s contribution in realising PM’s Digital India vision and are confident that Google and the startup community of India will continue to work together,” Vaishnaw said.
A spokesperson for Google said: “In the spirit of co-operation, we are temporarily reinstating apps of developers, with appeals pending in the SC. Google maintains its right to implement and enforce its business model, as established in various courts. We will invoice our full applicable services fees in the interim and are extending payment timelines for these companies. We look forward to a collaborative effort to find solutions that respect the needs of all parties.”
Over the weekend, there was a furore in the Indian startup community, after Google started to de-list hundreds of apps from its Play Store as many of them refused to pay the tech giant the commission that it was demanding on in-app payments.
Read More: Supreme Court Bans Tiger Safari In Core Areas Of Jim Corbett National Park
The companies have been asking for ease in using third-party payment options instead of “being forced” to go with Google’s payment system.
