The government will come out with a national e-commerce policy within 12 months to facilitate achieving holistic growth of the sector. This was informed by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal in his second marathon meeting with stakeholders, including e-commerce companies. The government in February released the draft national e-commerce policy proposing setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad. An inter-ministerial panel under DPIIT would be formed to address stakeholder grievances on FDI and draft e-commerce policy. The minister also stated that India wants to engage with the world on data and e-commerce issues “but there has to be reciprocity”. The minister has shown an open mind to discuss various issues related to e-commerce so that there is meaningful progress to ensure that everyone benefits from the growing digital economy, promoting a positive investment environment for both international and domestic companies.

(Live Mint)