Guidelines on cards to address grievances of e-commerce: DIPP

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SME Times News Bureau | 29 May, 2015
The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) on Thursday said that it was working on guidelines to address the issue of ongoing tug of war between e-commerce retailers and their counterparts in bricks and mortar, clarifying that e-commerce retailers are hardly on government radar.

Its Joint Secretary Atul Chaturvedi while addressing an Interactive Session on "Ease of Doing Business and the Government Policy" under aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi on Thursday also clarified that 100 percent FDIs could be availed of through an automatic route in the defence sector for items de-listed from the defence licensing recently to promote Make-in-India.

"With the recent reformative measures initiated by the government to facilitate ease of doing business in India has led to an increase of actual FDIs inflow to an extent of 40 percent between October 2014 and March 2015 as compared to the same period in the previous year. Such measures have also resulted into decrease of domestic corporate investments overseas by 86 percent during the same period. The actual FDIs in manufacturing have also gone up between 13 percent to 15 percent in October 2014 until March 2015", said Chaturvedi.

Elaborating further on the issue of e-commerce retailers vis-à-vis those in bricks and mortar, Chaturvedi said that the government was aware of on the confrontational front between the two and would shortly address this through evolving guidelines though the FDI Policy on this front is clear and lucid.

He, however, added categorically stating that the government is unlikely to regulate the e-commerce entities since clear cut policy on this front is in place but evolve guidelines to strike a balance between the two.

"De-licensing for close to 60 percent of defence related procurements has already been de-listed to promote Make-in-India for all sections of industry including those of MSMEs and that 100 percent FDIs in them could be elicited through automatic route and facilitate defence production in India and that India Inc. should take its advantages", he said.

The Joint Secretary also disclosed that the DIPP would finish the exercise of its rating on ease of doing business in all states of the country by August 2015 and accordingly accord the rating status which would facilitate higher volumes of FDIs in States that has created conditions conducive to receiving investments.

According to him, no state wants to leg behind in terms of receiving investments and healthy competition is growing among all states for FDIs to improve their economic and social lot.

In his welcome remarks, President PHD Chamber Alok B. Shriram demanded tax concessions for MSMEs and also made a pitch for lower rates of interest for them. He also called for MSMEs participation in country's defence production.