Tech giant Google is being urged to soften its stance in India after rejection by startup founders in the country about its policies. Some startups are already looking for alternative lists for their applications through Android application package (APK) downloads on their websites. There are cases like the fantasy sports platform Dream11 that gets 100 million users without being on the Google Play Store list, the founders said.
Startups are also demanding fair play as Google, which is used by 95% of Indian digital consumers, controls the entire technology stack from an operating system (Android) to the distribution of applications through its Play Store. . These companies may even consider setting up a non-profit organization to run a possible list of app stores for Indian apps. However, the discussions are at an early stage.
Google has begun meeting with various application developers in the country to “understand their concerns more deeply” and will also host “policy workshops” where it will answer questions from developers about their policies. Indian startups will have an additional six months to comply with their Play Store billing rules, Google said on Sunday.
The Center, which has been in listening mode so far, has asked startups to send it a letter informing them of the challenges. The founders plan to ship this next week. An opinion will take hold after deliberations at various levels, a government official said.
“One could assume that discontent among Indian apps regarding the demands of the Google Play commission, coupled with a public policy and regulatory change favoring an indigenous app store, may have played a role in the flexibility of Google Play, “said Akash Karmakar, Partner, Law Offices of Panag and Babu.
Bipin Preet Singh, founding CEO of MobiKwik, a payment service, which was also briefly removed from the Play Store in May, ruled out the postponement of Play Store billing. “There has to be strict regulation in India, calling on tech conglomerates to operate with fairness and transparency while allowing competition to flourish. They no longer (Google) appeal to the good of any company […] They cannot control the operating system, the distribution of applications and launch their own applications. These need to be decoupled and all the founders are looking for alternatives to list their applications, “Singh said.
Nearly 24 startup founders, including Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, recently spoke with the electronics and information technology ministry against Google’s policies.
“They need to eliminate the 30% commission in India and stop forcing companies to only use their Play Store billing system. All we ask is fair play. Today startups are at the mercy of Google, where they can randomly remove any app from the Play Store, “said Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO of Matrimony.com Ltd.
Snehil Khanor, co-founder and CEO of TrulyMadly.com, said Facebook and Google are taking the capital of India by colonizing the digital economy.
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