Turmoil in the marketplace

FDI norms for e-commerce should be relaxed

A party that promised the business community a radical departure from the Congress’ economic management appears to be copying its worst practices straight from the bad old days of the licence-permit raj. Last week, the government asked top e-commerce retailers Amazon and Flipkart, the Indian arm of Walmart, to furnish details of their top five sellers, investments, and commission agreement with vendors. The inaptly named Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has sent both the e-commerce giants separate questionnaires, asking them to provide details of their capital structure, business model, and inventory management system. There are several