India to skip global e-comm talks despite chances of draft policy overhaul

India would continue to skip global talks on e-commerce despite the high likelihood of the government bringing out a fresh draft of the proposed e-commerce policy after elections, said sources in the know.

Senior Commerce Department officials have briefed the Prime Minister’s Office on why joining ongoing talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) would erode India’s policy space to regulate foreign firms.

New Delhi would instead push the draft e-commerce policy back home, with talks on data repatriation, taxation and corporate control. Industry body Nasscom has supported the move in its submissions to the ministry.

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