Aug 15, 2018
Government reviews draft e-commerce policy following criticism
Aug 15, 2018
The Ministry of Commerce has formulated a draft e-commerce policy that aims to boost domestic start-ups but, following criticism of several aspects of the 19 page document, discussions are scheduled and changes may be made.
The Minister of Commerce, Suresh Prabhu, tweeted about the matter and stated that the ministry had received a “few concerns” concerning the draft policy.
Prabhu assured that the ministry will reach out to concerned stakeholders to address these complaints.
One of the complaints, according to Mint’s anonymous sources, was over the requirement for Indian data to be held locally. Last month Paytm, an Indian online payments platform, urged the government to store data locally for higher security but other stakeholders, especially international ones, have opposed this.
Other aspects of the draft e-commerce policy that have been criticised include the favouritism shown to domestic start-ups, and antitrust rules. The policy will be the first of its kind in India and, unless drastic changes are made to the draft, may signal a shift to a more Chinese model of favouring domestic businesses.
As US-based businesses including Google and Facebook currently dominate the Indian online retail market and the search, social, and messaging sectors, the Indian government is deciding whether it wants this to continue or to form a new, domestic dominated model.
The upcoming policy will have repercussions in the online fashion market with, after electronics, is the second largest selling sector online.
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