Data localisation, an overarching theme across recent government policy proposals, has been a thorny issue with industry
Make no mistake, Reliance's entry into Indian e-commerce cannot be taken lightly. It is akin to a combine of AT&T and Wal-Mart challenging Amazon on its home turf, says Shailesh Dobhal.
According to CAIT, e-commerce policy should take within its ambit not only foreign players but also domestic ones.
Another point of contention is the invoice issued by the e-companies.
Experts say data localisation and sharing is probably the single-biggest detriment that the draft policy talks about, the rest have no or minor repercussions on the players
The final policy may be out only after formation of the new government, according to sources
In order to counter the growing penetration of e-commerce portals, the ICT industry in Gujarat is also mulling initiation of its own portal for selling products.
Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is hoping to get more than 30,000 consumers through its e-commerce pilot project that will be launched in the first week of July.
Uber had run into trouble with the RBI over the two-payment process
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sought a meeting with quick-commerce (qcom) platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto on Tuesday to discuss issues regarding violations of food safety standards, according to sources familiar with the matter. This comes at a time when there have been issues raised about food safety standard violations by qcom platforms for packaged food products, including violations related to expiry and best before dates.
Industry associations and companies in the United States, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Coalition of Services Industries and the iconic bike company Harley Davidson have called on the Donald Trump dispensation to push India to reduce tariffs, non-tariffs, and regulatory barriers to boost American exports.
Irdai's push will make insurance cheaper for consumers and enable a consolidated view of all policies.
It is hard enough to make a profit in e-commerce without having to deal with excessive paperwork, legal fees and the constant threat of harassment by revenue officials.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors' association has written to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, expressing its apprehensions that the "unchecked expansion" of quick commerce platforms was leading to severe disruptions in the retail ecosystem. India Consumer Products Distributors Federation on Thursday shot an email to the government, saying that significant challenges were posed by the rapid growth of quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart to the traditional retail sector and the FMCG distribution network in the country.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) representing 70 million traders has written to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, drawing his attention to the alleged violations of laws and regulations by quick commerce (qcom) companies.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors' association has written to the finance ministry, highlighting concern over fund utilisation and fund accumulation by quick commerce companies and deep discounting of goods on their platforms. According to a recent letter seen by Business Standard, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) noted that its analysis indicated that approximately 80 per cent of these funds were directed toward customer acquisition strategies instead of creating cutting-edge innovations or sustainable growth models for the retail sector.
'We may see even more restrictive policies during 2.0.'
India's internet economy is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030, primarily due to e-commerce, which is expected to be worth $325 billion and rank third globally, according to industry experts. Last year marked a crucial turning point for India's e-commerce sector, with notable changes in consumer trends, technology, and regulations. InGovern Research Services, a leading corporate governance advisory firm, hosted a virtual roundtable to deliberate on the notable developments in India's e-commerce sector in 2023, with a particular focus on the essential role of customer trust in fueling its ongoing expansion.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) may extend the deadline to whitelist URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), APKs (Android Package Kit), or OTT (Over The Top) links - through which it intends to curb their misuse -is likely to be extended by 30 days as only over 3,000 registered senders (businesses) have complied, officials indicated. According to Trai officials, over 3,000 registered senders have whitelisted more than 70,000 links, but many more (thousands of others) are yet to comply with the directive as the mandatory norms are set to come into effect from October 1.
The interim report highlights key competition issues in the e-commerce space like deep discounting, the imposition of unfair terms and conditions, the growing dependence of brick and mortar establishments on online platforms, and opaqueness in search rankings.
In 2025, India's tech job market is thriving, with tech professionals seeing a 9.5% salary increase and roles like AI/ML architects earning up to Rs 95 lakh annually.
India's e-commerce market alone is projected to reach $200 billion by 2026, making it a prime industry for ambitious entrepreneurs, explains rediffGURU Harsh Bharwani.
An online company would show a particular price to the customer and then quickly increase the cost after analysing consumer behaviour or detecting any kind of desperation.
The government is set to examine concerns over quick commerce companies potentially undermining businesses of local kirana stores, particularly in the context of the draft Digital Competition Bill, according to official sources. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs recently raised the issue with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs during discussions around the proposed legislation. "We need to assess if and how the Bill can address these concerns and explore further steps to include provisions to keep a check," a senior official stated.
India already allows 100 per cent ownership of greenfield pharma businesses.
'Domestic investors are opening up to the idea of high-growth Internet companies as a pool of value creation.' 'They like the execution that they see with Zepto, and for us, that is the most important factor.'
The complaint has been received against these online trading entities weeks after an uproar over Flipkart's massive discount sale which had raised concerns of anti-competitive practices.
There is ample fuel in the computer revolution to do many useful things.
'Regulatory challenges exist everywhere. What we look for is regulatory stability over time.'
Will allowing business correspondents to hawk insurance products help in reviving 5-lakh strong field agents as a viable channel?
Food and grocery a favourite category for e-commerce players.
The draft e-commerce rules released last year held e-commerce marketplace responsible if a seller on its platform failed to deliver the goods or services ordered by a consumer "due to negligent conduct, omission or commission of any act by such seller", causing loss to the consumer.
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The Chinese government has accused e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd of not paying enough attention to illegal business conducted on its platforms and failing to take effective steps to snuff it out.
Drones are being sold by e-retailers like Flipkart and Snapdeal for less than Rs 40,000 apiece.
The commerce department has reaffirmed its plans to launch the 'Trade Connect' e-platform to help exporters connect with stakeholders of international trade, as a part of the new government's 100-day action plan, a senior government official said.
It is being suggested that apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, should share their APIs with each other to ensure there is interoperability, just as it exists across email services.
The grievance redressal mechanism of many big e-commerce players is not up to the mark as the number of complaints received by the National Consumer Helpline has risen sharply over the last four years, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said on Thursday. Addressing an event organised by the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), Singh said the number of complaints registered on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has gone up to 90,000 in November compared to 40,000 in the same month last year. "Four years back, the number of complaints pertaining to e-commerce transactions was 8 per cent of the total complaints.
It is watching e-commerce policy fineprint before spelling out India plan
Some regulators are already unleashing their own algorithms to track and understand pricing software of e-commerce companies. While companies collude on pricing, governments are collaborating on curbing online malpractices. The legal liability of an algorithmic decision will be interpreted as legal liability of an entity of an individual. Anti-trust activities of algorithms will not go unchallenged in any economy.
The IPO market will be bustling next week, with four companies, including Bajaj Housing Finance, set to launch their initial share-sale to raise a total of Rs 8,390 crore. Besides these four main-board IPOs, nine SMEs are preparing to debut with their maiden public issues next week, targeting to collect Rs 254 crore. Together, these 13 firms are looking to raise Rs 8,644 crore through IPO.
