MUMBAI, May 20 -- After making a U-turn on its move to get Apple and Google to pull ride-hailing applications from their app stores, the Maharashtra government has decided to make policy changes to tighten oversight on bike taxi operations. The state plans to make it mandatory for operators to develop Maharashtra-specific applications for bike taxi services, and to implement geo-fencing of apps to ensure greater control on their operations. A standoff has arisen as aggregator apps such as Uber, Ola and Rapido have been running bike taxis while violating various regulations. The state has announced new steps only 24 hours after it was forced to make an embarrassing climbdown in its attempt to rein in illegal bike taxi operations. On Friday, the cyber department served notices to Apple and Google, directing them to remove Uber, Ola and Rapido apps form their platforms, to halt bike taxi services. The apps, which were pulled down on Friday night, were restored on Saturday after the central government intervened. According to government officials, since pulling down the apps meant taxi, auto-rickshaw and other operations too were impacted, the companies that run these aggregator apps reached out to the Indian government, urging it to restore their services. "The central government got in touch with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also heads the state home department, following which the cyber department was asked to take immediate corrective measures," said a transport department official. Bike taxi operators have allegedly failed to comply with policy requirements such as mandatory deployment of electric vehicles, using green-and-yellow registration plates, among other things. To get operators to fall in line, the government will revisit its bike taxi policy announced in September last year. "Operators will be required to develop Maharashtra-specific applications for bike taxi operations so that the state has control over services," said a government official. State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said operators would submit their demands in a meeting scheduled for Friday. "We will not compromise on safety-related norms or dilute the policy. However, if operators face difficulties in replacing existing bikes with electric vehicles and seek additional time, we can consider it," he said....