E-Commerce

Some of the major developments in the Indian e-commerce sector are as follows:

• India’s ecommerce sector received US$ 15 billion of PE/VC investments in 2021 which is a 5.4 times increase year on year. This is the highest investment value received by any sector ever in India.
• In February 2022, Xpressbees became a unicorn with a US$ 1.2 billion valuation after raising US$ 300 million in its Series F funding.
• In Februrary 2022, Amazon India launched One district One product (ODOP) bazaar on its platform to support MSMEs.
• In Februrary 2022, Flipkart launched the “sell back program” to enable trade in smartphones.
• In Janaury 2022, Walmart invites Indian sellers to join its US market place with an aim of exporting US$ 10 billion from India each year by 2027.
• In January 2022, Flipkart has announced expansion in its grocery services and will offer services to 1,800 Indian cities.
• In November 2021, XPDEL US- based ecommerce announced expansion in India.
• In September 2021, CARS24, India's leading used car e-commerce platform, has raised US$ 450 million in funding, comprising a US$ 340 million Series F equity round and US$ 110 million in debt from various financial institutions. In September 2021, Amazon launched Prime Video Channels in India. Prime Video Channels will give Prime members a seamless experience and access to a variety of popular video streaming services.
• In September 2021, Bikayi, a mobile commerce enabler, raised US$ 10.8 million in a Series A funding round, led by Sequoia Capital India.
• Flipkart, India's e-commerce powerhouse, announced in July 2021 that it has raised US$ 3.6 billion in new funding from various sources including sovereign funds, private equities and Walmart (parent company).
• In June 2021, Flipkart added a new fulfilment centre (FC) in Dankuni, West Bengal. The FC is spread over 2.2 lakh sq. ft. and has a potential to create ~3,500 direct jobs.
• In June 2021, Grofers, the grocery delivery start-up, reportedly entered the unicorn club, after raising US$ 120 million from Zomato, the food delivery platform.
• In June 2021, Mastercard invested an undisclosed amount in Instamojo, a payments firm, to help digitise online stores and process their payments more seamlessly.
• In May 2021, Amazon introduced a video streaming service within its shopping app called MiniTV for users in India. MiniTV features web series, comedy shows and content on tech news, food, beauty and fashion.
• In May 2021, Flipkart strengthened its grocery infrastructure to cater to customer safety and demand across India. In this quarter, it is planning to further expand its fulfilment centre capacity for grocery by over 8 lakh square feet across Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Coimbatore and Hyderabad..
• In May 2021, Flipkart announced that it is in talks with sovereign funds, private equity majors and other investors to raise up to US$ 2 billion at a valuation of US$ 30 billion.
• In April 2021, Flipkart announced a commercial alliance with Adani Group to improve the company's logistics and data centre capabilities and create about 2,500 direct jobs.
• In April 2021, Flipkart announced to acquire Cleartrip, an online travel technology firm. Flipkart announced to purchase 100% shareholding of Cleartrip as the company expands its investments to broaden its digital commerce offerings for customers.
• In April 2021, Kirana commerce platform ElasticRun raised US$ 75 million in a round led by existing investors—Avataar Venture Partners and Prosus Ventures.
• In March 2021, Amazon acquired Bengaluru-based retail tech start-up Perpule for Rs. 107.6 crore (US$ 14.5 million).
• In March 2021, Purplle, an online beauty store, raised US$ 45 million from Sequoia Capital India, Verlinvest, Blume Ventures and JSW Ventures.
• In March 2021, Captain Fresh, a B2B marketplace for seafood, raised US$ 3 million in seed capital led by Matrix Partners India and Ankur Capital.
• In March 2021, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents 80 million traders and 40,000 trader associations, announced the launch of a mobile app for its e-commerce portal, ‘Bharat E-market’. The association aims to get more small traders to sell online easily through smartphones.

Since 2014, the Government of India has announced various initiatives, namely Digital India, Make in India, Start-up India, Skill India and Innovation Fund. The timely and effective implementation of such programs will likely support growth of E-commerce in the country. Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government to promote E-commerce in India are as follows:

• As of February 15, 2022, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal served 9.04 million orders worth Rs. 193,265 crore (US$ 25.65 billion) to 58,058 buyers from 3.79 million registered sellers and service providers.
• As of November 2, 2021, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal served 7.96 million orders worth Rs. 152,315 crore (US$ 20.40 billion) to 55,433 buyers from 3.06 million registered sellers and service providers.
• As of October 11, 2021, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal served 7.78 million orders worth Rs. 145,583 crore (US$ 19.29 billion) to 54,962 buyers from 2.92 million registered sellers and service providers.
• In a bid to systematise the onboarding process of retailers on e-commerce platforms, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is reportedly planning to utilise the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to set protocols for cataloguing, vendor discovery and price discovery. The department aims to provide equal opportunities to all marketplace players to make optimum use of the e-commerce ecosystem in the larger interest of the country and its citizen.
• National Retail Policy: The government had identified five areas in its proposed national retail policy—ease of doing business, rationalisation of the licence process, digitisation of retail, focus on reforms and an open network for digital commerce—stating that offline retail and e-commerce need to be administered in an integral manner.
• The Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules 2020 notified by the Consumer Affairs Ministry in July directed e-commerce companies to display the country of origin alongside the product listings. In addition, the companies will also have to reveal parameters that go behind determining product listings on their platforms.
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Union Bank of India to facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system for an array of services in October 2019.
• Under the Digital India movement, Government launched various initiatives like Umang, Start-up India Portal, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) etc. to boost digitisation.
• In October 2020, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal invited start-ups to register at public procurement portal, GeM, and offer goods and services to government organisations and PSUs.
• In October 2020, amending the equalisation levy rules of 2016, the government mandated foreign companies operating e-commerce platforms in India to have permanent account numbers (PAN). It imposed a 2% tax in the FY21 budget on the sale of goods or delivery of services through a non-resident ecommerce operator.
• In order to increase the participation of foreign players in E-commerce, Indian Government hiked the limit of FDI in E-commerce marketplace model to up to 100% (in B2B models).
• Heavy investment made by the Government in rolling out fiber network for 5G will help boost E-commerce in India.