Make it easier to source Indian goods: Industry bodies urge government

E-commerce has already had its tryst with the Make India campaign, with several online marketplaces rooting for authentic Indian handicrafts and products, manufactured entirely in India. This experiment as proved successful with several customers scrambling to buy funky and novel designs created by Indian artists and craftsmen.

A step further

It seems like the e-commerce industry now wants to take this to the next level, with industry associations requesting the government to liberalize business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce business. Needless to say, this will allow the e-commerce companies to source the products directly from Indian manufacturers, thus creating a lucrative market for them. This will also greatly encourage the ‘Make in India’ campaign, which is one our government’s most ambitious initiatives.

For the e-commerce companies, this gives them the profitable opportunity to benefit from inventory and supply chain practices resulting from bulk purchase.  So it definitely looks like a win-win situation for everyone.

Tug-of-war

Interestingly, this also suggests that though e-commerce is treated like a threat to small retailers in India, it can actually be quite profitable for manufacturers. That’s one of the important reasons why many retailers are jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon. At the moment, it looks like it will be a tug-of-war game between ‘Make in India’ and ‘Sell in India’.

If the government regulations are created to encourage e-commerce growth, this could actually be a tie between the two. That’s because after all, e-commerce is now both about encouraging manufacturing and selling products online.