E-commerce in India: To be or not to be

A thinking man's guide to e-commerce controversies

If you have been befuddled by news headlines which alternately feature the astronomical losses being posted by online shopping sites and the equally astronomical market capitalisations they seem to secure from private equity investors, be comforted that you are not the only one to be so confounded. The mechanisms that drive internet-based businesses, particularly those that deal with consumer e-commerce, are not the same that have driven traditional businesses. Unravelling these new processes will go a long way towards taking a rational public policy stance on the controversies surrounding consumer e-commerce in India.
 
At the core of any internet