Update
On April 19, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reverted its original decision. E-commerce companies are once again allowed to supply only essential goods. Non-essential goods will remain prohibited until May 3, the end of extended lockdown. They might be able to start their operations as usual from May 4 if everything goes fine.
Supply of non-essential goods by e-Commerce companies to remain prohibited during lockdown: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) pic.twitter.com/5wuB3mLXoT
— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2020
Original Story
India has been under lockdown for almost a month to avoid the spread of coronavirus. The precautionary lockdown was initially set for 21 days, however, the rise of COVID-19 cases led the central government to further extend it till May 3.
But to keep up the economy running, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced a relaxation of businesses to start operating by abiding necessary rules from April 20. Following which, Flipkart, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the country has confirmed to slowly begin its all services.
Flipkart, together with Amazon and other players have been operating in India even during the lockdown. But these companies are only limited to sell essential products. Thankfully, that will change with the new relaxation issued by the government as they can now start selling non-essential goods as well.
As of now, only Flipkart has confirmed to begin their operations. It has already started accepting orders for smartphones, which is one of the most selling categories of products on this platform. For the unaware, Flipkart is the largest home for exclusive smartphones in India.
Smartphone brands have been long trying to sell their devices since late last month by appealing the government to declare ‘smartphones as essential commodity’. However, that did not happen but once the MHA announced relaxation, they began their negotiations with their strategic online partners.
Coming back to Flipkart, it assures to follow the proper guidelines like maintaining social distancing by employing contactless deliveries through a sanitized supply chain. Also, it will offer services to only those areas where it is safe. Users can check if their area is eligible by entering the pin code.
We also expect all other players to begin their operations if it all goes well. Amazon, the primary rival of Flipkart in India is yet to confirm its decision.
UP NEXT: DOOGEE S95 Pro Review: A Top rugged Phone with Modular design
(Source)
