A day after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s sharp critique of e-commerce platforms like Amazon, red-flagging predatory pricing policies and possible violations of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms, he stressed that he was not against e-commerce per se but wanted players to ensure fair play and honesty in their business practices.
Speaking to students at Mumbai’s Atharva College, the Minister noted that the government was keen to invite FDI and technology that brings the “best of the world” to Indian citizens, Mr. Goyal said the intention is not to stop online retail or pull down its growth. He did not refer to Amazon this time.
“I want to reiterate… even yesterday, I said, online has tremendous benefits. We recognize that but if there is a law of the land that FDI is allowed in online services only when you do business to business, it’s a well thought out strategy. The idea is that our small retailers also can coexist and unfair competition doesn’t kill them,” he said, repeating concerns about the impact of e-commerce on an estimated 100 million small retailers nationwide.
“What the government, what the country desires, is fair play and honesty for the customer and the supplier of goods and services, and to ensure that our people also have a fair chance to compete against such online businesses,” he remarked.
“That’s all I said yesterday. I’m not against e-commerce. I am looking for a fair deal and integrity in their operation. Why should algorithms guide you to a particular product?” the minister said. He also reiterated his concerns about online pharmacies’ impact on five lack chemist stores in the country and people’s health, as well as the decline of neighbourhood mobile phone stores with the advent of large scale retailers and online phone sales.
