The Government held its first round of consultations on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy on e-commerce with stakeholders, including e-retail majors such as Flipkart, on Thursday to discuss concerns and examine the case for allowing foreign investment in the business-to-consumer (B2C) category.
“We are not taking a position this way or that. We have heard everybody… on whether they need FDI or do not need FDI and whether it will affect the level playing field. We need many more meetings,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters after the consultations on Thursday.
At present, India allows 100 per cent FDI in business-to-business or B2B e-commerce, but not in B2C companies that sell directly to consumers.
Representatives from industry body CII, FICCI, Nasscom, and companies such as eBay, Snapdeal, Decathlon, H&M, and Ikea attended the meeting.
The Minister said some operators had problems with state governments on issues such as e-commerce or how e-commerce is defined and perceived. “I may have meetings with state governments also to understand how they have taken certain positions,” Sitharaman said.