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Leveraging e-Commerce in the fight against Covid-19
Leveraging e-Commerce in the fight against Covid-19

April 15, 2021

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Today, as India struggles with a second wave of the pandemic, we are witnessing new restrictions being imposed by various state governments including on e-commerce activities. Government of Maharashtra has restricted online deliveries for only essential goods and services effective from 14 April 2021; Government of Uttar Pradesh has imposed night curfew between 8pm to 7am in certain districts; many other state governments have already imposed certain restrictions and may be considering certain additional measures.

Recognising the need for leveraging the potential of e-commerce industry in reducing the movement of people and thus breaking the chain of contact, NASSCOM is engaging with relevant central government departments, including Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Ministry of Home Affairs, requesting to permit operation of e-commerce companies for the delivery of ALL goods and services, subject to appropriate safety norms. We are also writing to State governments, including, respective Governments of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Haryana, requesting them to not impose unnecessary restrictions on e-commerce and allow the delivery of all goods and services.

The world has been fighting against Covid-19 since more than one year now. It has impacted every aspect of human life without any exceptions. We have witnessed dynamic shifts in the way businesses and governments are operating, especially in terms of onboarding technology. Grocery stores are now concerned about the health risk that comes with visiting a brick-and-mortar store. In this time, it is important to let the sellers leverage e-Commerce wherever they need to avoid physical movement to protect themselves and their customers. Given that lakhs of physical retail stores have joined hands with e-commerce companies to meet the demands of people in these testing times, this should mitigate the challenges for the public to some extent.

Delivery personnel have been taking appropriate precautions in ensuring safe deliveries, which has contributed towards minimizing the number of people stepping out of their homes to avail goods and services, and thereby complementing the Government in its effort to contain the spread of the pandemic while causing the least disruption in carrying out day-to-day activities. We have experienced the ease that e-commerce companies have brought in, by being available for online deliveries in even the remotest of the locations and by taking appropriate safety precautions.

Governments and e-commerce companies can play a key role in helping households to take advantage of the power of e-commerce during this crisis, by:

  • Enabling businesses and households to connect to the digital economy.
  • Making it easier for brick-and-mortar stores to onboard onto e-commerce platforms.
  • Ensuring the safety of e-commerce by waving off the need for recipient’s signatures.
  • Supporting and expanding the use of contactless payment options.

For more information, kindly write to garima@nasscom.in.


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Garima Prakash
Deputy Manager, Public Policy and Government Affairs

Reach out to me for all things policy about e-commerce, international trade, export controls, start-ups and fintech

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