Instead of enabling growth, the draft National e-commerce policy tries to establish stringent controls on this nascent sector. Discuss critically. (200 words)
Refer – Business Standard
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
· The draft policy seems to have been designed to establish stringent controls on this nascent sector rather than enabling growth.
· Sunset clause – Sunset clause for discount pricing harkens back to the days of the licence raj, especially in terms of micro-management by the government.
· Apart from violating free market principles, this sort of price control would also be inconsistent with policy in other key sectors.
· Data localisation – The need to localise data storage and processing might result in significant rise in costs of products of e-commerce sector.
· Meanwhile, India doesn’t possess either server capacities at the required scale or the desirable broadband speeds to deliver cost-effective and efficient data storage and processing services.
· Inventory model – Giving permission for inventory-based marketing only to companies with resident Indian managements, and 51 per cent local shareholding doesn’t make much sense.
· The added proposal of preferential voting equity favouring Indians is also regressive.
Shankaranand 6 years
Please Review
Thank You
IAS Parliament 6 years
How discount price restrictions will increase product price need to be explained. Keep writing.
