Google takes down Indian apps from Play store over service fee row

Early on Friday, technology major Google said it might remove apps of 10 Indian developers from its Play Store for not complying with its user choice billing (UCB) system. But even before the day came to a close, some apps of job search and matrimony companies, such as Naukri.com, matrimony.com, and Truly Madly, were found missing from Google Play. The dispute is over Google imposing a fee of 11 per cent to 26 per cent on in-app payments after the Competition Commission of India ordered scrapping of an earlier system of charging 15 per cent to 30 per cent. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear pleas by a group of Indian startups challenging the UCB policy but refused to pass an interim order, allowing Google to delist apps that were not in agreement with its billing policy.