DPIIT starts analysing stakeholders' views on draft e-commerce policy

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has started analysing the comments and suggestions received from stakeholders on the draft national e-commerce policy as the deadline for sending comments ends Friday.

The DPIIT, sources said, does not intend to extend the deadline for seeking views on the draft e-commerce policy. Earlier, on the request of stakeholders, the department extended the deadline from March 9 to March 29.

Sources also said that as the general elections are going to start from next month and the model of conduct has kicked in, the process of formulation of the final policy may wait till the new government assumes charge as it requires approval of the union cabinet.

Earlier this month, the department held consultations with stakeholders on the policy, where participants raised demand for a separate policy on data related issue.

Among various issues, the draft policy mainly talks about data. The draft has proposed setting up of a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow from specified sources such as data generated by users in India by various sources including e-commerce retail platforms and social media tools.

It has also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad. Besides, it has suggested to fix a three-year period for industry to adjust to the data storage requirement of the country with a view to develop infrastructure for promoting digital economy.

These proposal are not going well with certain foreign technology firms, as they do not want to store data in India.

It seeks to provide for consideration and discussion of a policy framework that will enable the country to benefit from rapid digitisation of the domestic as well as global economy.

The 41-page draft talks about six broad issues of the e-commerce ecosystem -- data, infrastructure development, e-commerce marketplaces, regulatory issues, stimulating domestic digital economy and export promotion through e-commerce.