In order to make Indian retail market more competitive, the government is likely to ease FDI norms in e-commerce in July to allow foreign online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc to sell their own products in Indian retail market.
The government is of the view that a more robust online retail sector would spur manufacturing and consumption, helping revive an Indian economy which has been growing a sub 5 percent over the past two fiscal years. The move will allow global onlilne retailers to partner with local manufacturers to source products not carried by other sellers on the marketplace, giving Indian consumers unique and wider choices at lower prices. Further, this initiative is likely to help small traders to grow their business, expand and reach out to a larger market.
Present market size of Indian retail sector stands at around $500 billion. E-commerce is expected to contribute around up to 4 percent to India’s economy by 2020 from under 1 percent now. On the other hand, retailers body CAIT is opposing the decision, saying that the government should not allow FDI in e-commerce retail as it would grant back-door entry to foreign players in the multi-brand retail. Further CAIT stated that permitting FDI in e-commerce retailing would be detrimental to the interests of more than six crore small shop-owners across the country. Currently, India's FDI policy restricts e-commerce companies from offering services directly to retail consumers. Though, India has allowed 100 percent FDI in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce in the country, foreign investment is not allowed in retail trading. Global players like Amazon and eBay operate in India through the marketplace model but do not have their own warehouses or retail operations.
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: