Allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in India’s e-commerce retail sector is not among the plans being considered by the government at present, a senior minister has said, according to media reports. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament, commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “No such proposal is under consideration of the government.” The minister said that at present the government is holding consultations with stakeholders and with states on the various issues related to e-commerce, including its definition. “As per extant FDI policy, e-commerce activities refer to the activity of buying and selling by a company through the e-commerce platform,” the minister said. At present, the Government of India allows 100 per cent FDI in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, but not in business-to-consumer (B2C) companies.
