A team from the world’s largest online retailer Amazon.com discussed issues relating to relaxation of foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in e-commerce with the Indian Government on Tuesday.
“We talked about it (relaxation of FDI guidelines). We discussed all aspects in the context of finding a better way to serve our Indian customers, both sellers and buyers,” said Paul Misener, Global Vice-President, Amazon, after his meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
The new FDI policy in retail announced by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in September last year came as a rude shock to the US-based online retailer of books and electronics as it continued to bar foreign investments in e-commerce.
India allows 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail stores and 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail subject to sourcing conditions. Some Government officials, who did not wish to be named, said that policy makers were examining the possibility of allowing FDI in e-commerce, but the Industry Department was not in a position to make any commitments at the moment.
Amazon has already opened three technical offices in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad that work on building software and applications that support Amazon Web sites across the world. “The Government of India has been very kind to Amazon.com and we continue to grow here. We have nearly 9,000 employees here in the country, and again we are looking for ways to better serve our customers,” Misener told reporters. Amazon.com had launched Junglee.com — an online shopping service — in India last year that enables buyers to compare various products and their prices as listed on other e-commerce Web sites.
amiti.sen@thehindu.co.in