E-commerce policy pending for six years is unlikely to be announced soon

Mumbai: The e-commerce policy that the country's policymakers have been mulling for the past six years is unlikely to be announced in the near future. The government wants to maintain the status quo as net foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country is slowing down.

In a meeting of government officials held last week, it was decided not to proceed with this policy. A commerce ministry official present at the meeting said that the prevailing opinion among the officials was that the e-commerce policy should not be given immediate priority.

The first draft of the e-commerce policy was released in 2019. It included difficult issues like data regulation, intellectual property and consumer protection.

Since the e-commerce sector has told the government that there are many challenges in implementing the draft, the government does not want to take any hasty decision on it.

Sources also said that since the e-commerce sector is in line with the government's efforts to create organised employment in the country, the government is considering simplifying the working methods in the sector.

At present, about two million people are associated with the e-commerce sector in the country. The government also believes that frequent changes in policies in any sector do not prove to be appropriate when efforts are made to attract FDI in the country.

In the last financial year, FDI inflows in the country declined by 3.50 percent year-on-year to $44.42 billion. The government wants to simplify policies to increase FDI inflows.