By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

NEW DELHI, March 5 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google

will restore the Indian apps it deleted after a

billing dispute, the company said on Tuesday, a reversal in

stance following pushback from the government and local internet

startups.

The U.S. firm on Friday removed more than 100 Indian apps,

including popular ones by Matrimony.com, for not

complying with its policy of paying a service fee when in-app

payment options other than Google's are used.

"In the spirit of cooperation, we are temporarily

reinstating the apps of the developers with appeals pending in

the Supreme Court," Google said in a statement.

The decision was taken after a closed-door meeting between

Google India head Sanjay Gupta and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw,

a source familiar with the discussions said.

The app removals sparked criticism from Indian companies,

many of which have been at loggerheads with Google for years.

The dispute centres on efforts by some Indian startups to

stop Google from imposing a fee of 11%-26% on in-app payments,

after the country's antitrust authorities ordered it not to

enforce an earlier fee of 15%-30%. The startups have challenged

Google's policy in courts, including the Supreme Court, and

before the antitrust watchdog.

"We believe that in the coming months, both the start-up

community as well as Google would be able to come to a long-term

resolution," Vaishnaw told Reuters partner ANI after meeting

Google.

Vaishnaw on Saturday criticized Google's decision to remove

apps, saying it "cannot be permitted".