Committee on FDI in e-commerce to meet tmrw

A three-member secretary level committee on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the fast emerging e-commerce segment will meet here tomorrow to discuss issues related with the sector, an official said.

The issues which could figure in the meeting include alleged violation of FDI norms by e-commerce companies and ways to further push the growth of the sector.

The three members of the committee include Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia and Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek, the official added.

The meeting assumes significance as the government has set up a think-tank, headed by the commerce and industry minister, to finalise the national policy on e-commerce.

A detailed national policy on the sector will help India in articulating its stand on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Several developed economies, including the US, are keen on an agreement in the WTO on the e-commerce sector.

India is participating in the ongoing technical negotiations on the issues in the WTO, but the subject is not on the formal negotiating table as the sector is at nascent stage in the country and developing countries want time to prepare themselves.

Traders' body the Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT) has time and again alleged that certain e-commerce companies violate foreign direct investment norms for e-commerce.