Govt says will shield small retailers, US calls for fair e-commerce policy

The government has to protect small retailers from e-commerce giants because of “political compulsions”, said commerce and industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday as the US trade secretary Wilbur Ross asked India to “fine-tune” its policies.

“E-commerce is expected to be an agnostic platform. It’s a platform for trading and a platform which provides opportunities to buyers and sellers in an agnostic fashion to work together,” said Goyal, adding e-commerce companies must not “throw out small retail out of business”

“India is very clear, considering our domestic political compulsions and having about 120-130 million people dependent on small retail–this small retail is a very sensitive subject,” he said at the India Economic Forum in New Delhi.