The plea, filed through advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma, had said that the public interest litigation was necessitated due to the alleged failure of the Centre in carrying out its constitutional duty and responsibility to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of speech and expression of the citizens of India.
Ever since the deal was announced of Walmart spending over $16 bn for a 77 per cent stake in Flipkart, the road to the takeover of India's biggest online marketplace has been quite bumpy
E-commerce giant Amazon and Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy's Catamaran Ventures have "mutually decided" to not continue their joint venture (JV) beyond the end of its current term. The JV, Prione Business Services, which has been running successfully for the past seven years, was coming up for renewal on May 19, 2022. The JV enabled over 300,000 sellers and entrepreneurs to go online. It also enabled 4 million merchants with digital payment capabilities, providing these small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and merchants access to millions of customers across the country.
After the Covid-19 pandemic that derailed the economy since 2019, the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is back with an estimated 20-30 per cent jump in festive spending. Retail sector is the key contributor to the state's Durga Puja economy which was Rs 32,377 crore in 2019, according to a British Council study conducted for the state government. Retail accounts for 85 per cent of the total puja economy and the rest is shared among pandal making, decoration, illumination, entertainment, advertisement, food & beverage and others.
'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.
The probe is being conducted under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the central probe agency recently received a communication from the commerce ministry seeking "necessary action" against e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart pertaining to certain multi-brand retail businesses and an observation made by the Delhi High Court in relation to Amazon.
'In the last 4, 5 years, ever since online companies started online shopping in a big way with heavy discounts, our sales are affected badly.' 'As there is no control over the way the online companies operate, they were able to destroy the domestic retail market to a great extent.'
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers and others leaders urged the people to follow the self-imposed curfew from 7 am to 9 pm, noting that "social distancing" was key to breaking the chain of infection, as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 283 after 60 new cases were detected on Saturday, the highest so far in a day, and states like Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar imposed partial lockdown till month end.
Some taxi and cab unions, including those associated with app-based aggregators, have decided to join the strike called by farmers organisations demanding repeal of three new farm sector laws.
The Delhi Hotels and Restaurant Owners Association, which has more than 3,000 budget hotels and restaurants as members in the national capital, has written to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) informing about the decision and the grouping's full support to CAIT's boycott Chinese goods campaign.
The smartphone category as a whole was expected to spend around Rs 1,000 crore on marketing and promotional activities over the next six months, even as India unlocks gradually, said media industry experts. This spending is expected to come down, as firms temper their launches.
'The government has stopped our earnings due to the lockdown and must do something for our earnings to restart.'
"Reaching an international agreement on how large digital companies are taxed has been a priority for the chancellor since he took office," said a spokesperson for his UK treasury office. "The chancellor's consistent position has been that it matters where tax is paid, and any agreement must ensure digital businesses pay tax in the UK that reflects their economic activities. That is what our taxpayers would expect and is the right thing," the spokesperson said.
The warning by the anti-trust watchdog has come days ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' India visit, about which the Seattle-headquartered company has been tight-lipped. Sources in the know indicated that Bezos, coming on a short trip, has sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Smaller Singapore- and US-based venture capital funds, retail associations and trader bodies such as the CAIT and SJM are all planning to approach the government to put pressure on the commerce ministry.
It has the potential to burnish his image as a strong leader, bring down inflation and could turn out to be common man-friendly.
The development comes after a recent notification from the Union home ministry, which has permitted companies to resume manufacturing operations and reopening of shops in red, green and orange zones with certain riders.
From the rollback of customs duty on key electronic components to fast tracking delivery of goods imported from China, players are looking for incentives on several counts.
'When you oppose a policy, you are labelled anti-government.' 'The problem is, the policymakers have never done any business in their lives.'
Most consumers are going for token buying of lesser value and are waiting for price correction for purchase of wedding jewellery.
Sellers, especially the smaller ones, are planning to go to court as well as move CCI as they fear that Walmart could bring multiple private labels in India and flood the e-commerce platform with its own products.
As many as 11 industry bodies related to food and pharma sectors on Thursday alleged that the food regulator FSSAI has become "den of corruption" and demanded a CBI inquiry into the functioning of the authority, which shot to limelight over the Maggi issue.
Private labels remain big business for e-commerce marketplaces. They comprise almost 15 per cent of the total business of such firms.
Regaining the lost sheen, sales of gold jewellery and coins are set to touch pre-COVID levels in volume terms on the auspicious Dhanteras as easing pandemic concerns and pent up demand saw consumers flocking to stores to buy the precious metal. Increased footfall at stores and brisk sales online as well as relatively softer gold prices compared to record Rs 57,000 per 10 grams level in August spurred increased buying, especially light weight offerings, on Tuesday. Dhanteras is considered to be auspicious for buying precious metals and other valuable items.
The CAIT has complained to the Commerce Ministry to take action against these companies.
Work in mandis across UP and in northern India which till Tuesday, witnessed heavy arrivals of newly harvested paddy, saw a steep decline.
The final policy may be out only after formation of the new government, according to sources
With almost all opposition parties too backing the 'Bharat bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure peace is maintained.
Retailers are also demanding that home delivery across all forms of retail should be allowed to ensure a level playing field.
A committee on digitalisation headed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had in an interim report recommended taxing cash transactions of at least Rs 50,000 to promote digital payments.
The case may drag for a few years, experts say, as CAIT and DVM have said they will appeal against the interim relief granted to Amazon.
The development comes amid a growing clamour for the boycott of Chinese products in India, combined with the government's push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
'If Walmart is a physical retailer, why is it striking a deal with Flipkart for the online space?'
Early GST rollout to help create more jobs, boost output, says IMF.
E-vyapar.com to help small businesses manage inventory & accounts online.
While brick-and-mortar retailers have been the most vocal in their protests, e-tailers do not seem to be in a hurry.
"Not a single step has been taken by this government to empower small businesses in India," says Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders and former treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi unit.
However, metro services, schools, colleges, cinema halls and salons will remain closed, the chief minister said. Wearing masks and following social distancing norms are mandatory in the city, Kejriwal said, adding that no activity will be permitted in containment zones, except for essential services.
The prime minister thanked the people but said it was the start of a long battle, as he urged them to follow social distancing to stop the chain of transmission of Coronavirus which has infected 360 people and claimed seven lives in India.
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