US-India advocacy group urges govt to allow Amazon, Flipkart, others sell books, fans under lockdown

Policy-advocacy group US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) has asked the government to clarify whether electric fans and educational books for students can be sold by e-commerce companies (such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, others) as essential items. The forum in a letter, signed by its president and CEO Mukesh Aghi on Tuesday, to the Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla sought his “guidance on whether e-commerce platforms will be allowed to sell educational books for students,” to help students continue with their education. It also urged Bhalla to “consider allowing e-commerce entities to make the same (electric fans) available on their platforms as well.” The request comes two days after the government in its latest notification had included ‘shops of educational books for students’ and ‘shops of electric fans’ under the list of exempted essential businesses during the lockdown. A copy of the letter, sent on Wednesday, was seen by the Financial Express Online.