As one of the tech largest company, Google has that grip on almost all tech ecosystems it touches. The company has control of the tech industry, and in mobile, it's also able to control the ecosystem through Android.
And in India, 97% of all smartphones in the world's second-most populous country run on Android.
When Google announced on September 28 that it will start strictly enforcing a rule that all sales on Android apps through its Google Play Store are subjected to a 30% commission fee, the tech world in India experienced an uproar.
Startups and Android app developers across India quickly blasted the move as "unilateral" and "arbitrary." Some have even compared Google's monopoly to the British occupation on India.
Among them, Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the most vocal.
"This giant monopoly, namely Google, is no more an innovation ecosystem but rather a toll collector," said Sharma as the founder and chief executive of Paytm, India's top mobile payment app, during an online conference held on October 8th.
According to Sharma, more than 120 online business startups in India have agreed to form a new industry group to advocate policy and business initiatives to curb the influence of Google over online businesses in India.
Paytm, which has more than 150 million monthly active users, has launched an alternative mobile-service distribution portal for Android apps, dubbed the 'Mini App Store', right inside its app on October 5th.
In just three days, right until the online conference, Paytm's Mini App Store managed to receive the attention of more than 5,000 Indian companies.
Those companies expressed their interest in being listed in the new portal, Paytm said.
GOQii, for example. The health monitoring platform that offers cloud-based services for use with wearable devices, is one of those 5,000 Indian companies wanted to be listed in the Mini App Store.
Its founder and chief executive, Vishal Gondal also has said some harsh words about Google during the October 8 conference, by comparing Google's 30% commission rule to the salt tax imposed by Britain, which monopolized the distribution of the commodity in colonial India.
He then compared the Mini App Store to the Salt March of 1930, which was a historic and non-violent protest led by Mahatma Gandhi against the salt monopoly as a symbol of the injustice of colonial rule.
Gondal further said that:
"We need to take a step-by step-approach to fight this ... to have a free and fair digital space in this country."
It was in August 15th of 1947 that India gained independence from the British. It was starting that date that the country finally established a free and independent nation.
But when it comes to the tech world, Google and some others are conquering the space, colonizing the ecosystem with their rules, putting a monopoly on the market with their influence.
Google said that it will enforce the payment requirements, starting from January 21 for new apps, and from April 1 for existing ones.
The rebellion against Google in India is part of a growing global movement of mobile developers seeking a "free and fair" marketplace, a move that notably saw Epic Games fighting Apple.
It should be noted that Paytm's Mini App Store isn't exactly an "app store".
This is because it offers web apps rather than native mobile apps. Web apps are essentially websites that behave like mobile apps, optimized for modern smartphones.
What this means, Paytm's Mini App Store is more or less, like Google's Spot Platform rather than the Google Play Store.
During the conference, Sharma said that app developers, for a limited period of time, can make an account on the Mini App Store for free and work towards developing their apps.
And to help with the adoption, Sharma also announced a 10 Crore investment fund for Mini App developers, adding that Paytm wouldn’t charge any commission from developers.
Related: Developers Of Popular Apps Create The 'Coalition For App Fairness' To 'Fight' Apple