The Government of India may soon launch the Indian App Store. Recently, Google announced a 30 per cent charge for apps. After which Indian app developers and entrepreneurs are demanding from the government for the Indian App Store.
India may soon launch its own App Store to end the monopoly of Google Play and Apple App Store in the country’s ecosystem. Two senior officials told ET that the federal government would consider the request. Recently, Google has announced a 30% fee for such apps but do not use Google’s billing system.
There is already an Indian App Store
There is already an Indian utility store, which is currently for government use only. This includes apps like Umang, Arogya Setu and Digilocker. According to an official, the app store development may start soon.
According to sources, the other app store will also be pre-loaded through the Google Play Store on the phone. Also, it is necessary to introduce a policy for smartphone makers, too.
Federal Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a post on Twitter that he was happy to receive recommendations from Indian app developers. He said it was necessary to encourage Indian utility developers to create a self-sufficient India utility ecosystem.
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Removed Apps From Google Play
Also, Google Play Store has removed some apps from its operating system, including Paytm. Google has accused Paytm of gambling, which has been strongly opposed by Paytm. However, within 24 hours, the app was back on Google Play. Demand for this speciality has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals.
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ET’s statement on Thursday- Many technology entrepreneurs are joining hands to seek the government’s support. They want to create the Indian digital application ecosystem. The demand is increasing by Google announcing on Monday that it would implement a 30% commission on in-app purchases.
Global experts believe that India is well enough to break the dominance of global technology companies in its digital application ecosystem. “In the (digital) industry, this does not require government assistance; they can collect it and charge at least 2% to run the platform. No one has to pay 30% to Apple and Google, ”said Vivek Wadhwa, an American technology entrepreneur and educator.
“Once it is complete initially successfully in India if it (the local App Store) is measuring globally, developers around the world will be happy to have an alternative platform where they don’t have to leave more than 30%,” he said.
Government officials say the issue (of foreign technology companies that dominate India’s digital app industry) emanates from the fact. Google’s Android operating system has a “98% market share” in the smartphone segment in India. However, this is far less so in other countries, including the United States.
“The problem of monopoly is very serious,” the person said, adding that Google receives user and application data about other apps available in its Play Store and competes with them through its own offers.
“It could be an unfair trade practice, which creates a strong case for owning an alternative utility store,” officials told ET.
However, professionals are saying that creating an Indian App Store is no easy task as companies like Google and Apple offer developers many ready-made tools to build their apps. Also, they spend billions of dollars every year to expose malware and security vulnerabilities.
Development of Indian App Store
“Developers find it easy to use their (Google) libraries. The alternatives are more difficult, and they are tightly linked to other services such as maps, authentication, location’. This is the statement of Anand Venkatanarayanan of Hussein, a social networking site based on technology.
Very challenging. ”In particular, it is important to make sure that the application is from a real source of software, not Trojan or malware.
“As far as Google is concerned, this is not an unresolved issue, and it is difficult for users to build this trust. Any attempt by the government-run App Store to claim that it is scalable should be taken with a lot of scepticism,” he said.
Officials, for their part, say it’s good to have an industry that plans to approach the government to launch an app store. “If the government had done this on its own initiative. Also, the allegations of user privacy and data sharing would have been raised.”