The government today sought inputs from leading e-commerce companies to help frame a policy framework to govern the sector.
A meeting was held today with representatives of companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Wipro, and industry bodies Nasscom, CII and FICCI as well as officials from RBI and NPCI to discuss various issues, according to sources.
One of the sources said the government is looking at formulating a comprehensive policy and framework on digital commerce to provide clarity on various topics, including data protection, enforcement of current norms for e-commerce, promotion of local payment options and other measures with emphasis on boosting small enterprises and creation of jobs.
The process of framing such a policy is a complicated one as there are multiple stakeholders, including various government departments like IT, commerce, consumer affairs as well as a host of allied businesses like logistics, payments and technology players that work with e-commerce players.
Another industry executive pointed that the unanimous view of the house was that digital commerce is of strategic importance to the country and therefore, clarity in regulations is essential.
Indian e-commerce market has been growing at a strong pace with players like Flipkart and Amazon pumping in billions of dollars towards building infrastructure and other activities. International players like Alibaba have also invested significant amount in the Indian market.