Over the weekend, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade released India's Draft Ecommerce Policy (pdf). The DPIIT has invited comments from stakeholders and the public, which can be sent to goonjan.kumar@gov.in till 9 March 2019. At this point, it is unclear if the comments submitted towards this draft will be made public. Points raised in the policy are both explicitly cited and paraphrased. Here's a piece by piece lowdown on all the issues it raises: The goal of the ecommerce policy The ecommerce policy will address the regulatory gaps from the Personal Data Protection Bill. It will also ensure that policy and programmes are 'harmonious across Ministries and Departments of the Government.' The goal: "creating a facilitative regulatory environment for growth of e-commerce sector empowering domestic entrepreneurs encouraging Make in India safeguarding interests of the consumers leveraging access to data mainstreaming the segments of our economy hitherto having limited access to the digital ecosystem (MSMEs, vendors, traders etc.), by empowering them through skilling..." "promoting domestic research and development in digital innovation in order to foster homegrown alternate, cheaper and efficient service providers suited for the Indian market, including those in digital payment processes, likeRuPay and BHIM enabling domestic players in the Indian market to be sustainable in the digital economy stimulating the participation of micro, small and medium enterprises, start-ups and traders in the digital economy" Through 6 issues: "data infrastructure development e-commerce marketplaces regulatory issues stimulating domestic digital economy export promotion through e-commerce" Taking into account the "needs and expectations of…
