It seems that the monopoly of Google Play Store is now gone. Paytm has launched its own Mini App Store, which is touted as an alternative to Google Play Store. Even though Mini App Store won’t be a full-blown store, you can access several important apps via Paytm. The new development is to show to Google that India is not far behind.
You can access mini app store from within Paytm app. There is no need to install any other apps from Google Play Store. The launch of Paytm’s mini app store assumes significance with the removal of Paytm app from Google Play Store for a brief period of time for violating Gambling policies.
There has been a call from Indian developers for a local alternative to Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The launch of Paytm’s Mini App Store will give a big boost to India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The mini app store contains custom-made mobile websites, which are designed to save battery and data.
According to reports, the development of App Store is not because of the removal of the Paytm app from Play Store but over 30 percent commission for in-app purchases via Google’s billing system. The sources revealed to media that companies like Ola Cabs, Domino’s Pizza, 1mg, Coolwinks, MagicPin, MyGov, and Headfone have joined the mini app store. The mobile payments company is planning to integrate several apps inside the its app store. Paytm is listing the mini apps without any charge for the benefit of the people.
To access Mini App Store, you should navigate to the Paytm app and select “Show More” located just below Online Shopping icon on the home dashboard. You will see “Mini App Store” option on the left side navigation panel. You will be able to view the list of all the available apps separated by various categories. You should ideally continuously monitor the app for the presence of new apps. The Recents tab enables you to access all the recently installed apps.
Google has been heavily criticized by the manner in which they removed Paytm app from Google App Store. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is of the opinion that Google should not act arbitrarily and enforce its rules and regulations that are against the country’s laws. It remains to be seen as to how Google reacts to the inclusion of Mini App Store on Paytm. Google knows that there are no credible competitors to its App Store with the wide range of apps under tons of categories.
