Indian startups reportedly consider butting heads with Google’s app store

Paytm co-founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, MakeMyTrip’s Deep Kalra, and executives from PolicyBazaar, Sharechat, and several other companies were reportedly some of those included in the talks.

The coalition intends to address growing concerns about Google’s “monopolistic” hold on India’s mobile app landscape and the inconsistent implementation of the tech giant’s Play Store guidelines. According to the report, Google commands roughly 99% of India’s smartphone market.

Talks between the entrepreneurs began just weeks ago and intensified on Tuesday when Google announced that developers on its Play Store app market must hand over a cut of up to 30% of several app-related user transactions.

Earlier this year, Google temporarily removed Paytm’s app from its app marketplace, citing the fintech firm’s repeat violations of Play Store policies.

“This is the problem of India’s app ecosystem. So many founders have reached out to us… if we believe this country can build digital business, we must know that it is at somebody else’s hand to bless that business and not this country’s rules and regulations,” Sharma said in a TV interview after Google’s move.