The Draft E-Commerce Policy: An FDI Perspective

The e-commerce market in India is expected to reach USD 200 billion by 2026¹ with increased smart phone usage, internet penetration and accessibility to 4G networks. Such a booming industry with exceptional growth has piqued the interests of foreign multinationals such as Amazon and Walmart all of whom want a piece of the Indian e-commerce pie. Such interests have been followed on with substantial investments by foreign entities into various Indian e-commerce players. In 2019 alone, e-commerce and consumer internet companies received more than USD 4.32 billion from venture capital and private equity firms. In October 2020, Amazon India invested over INR 700 crores into its payment unit Amazon Pay². Domestic conglomerates have also entered the e-commerce fray. The most notable recent domestic transaction being the acquisition by the Tata Group of majority stake in Big Basket for USD 1.2 billion.