The new guidelines announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) come into effect from April 20, which means that ecommerce platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon can resume the sale of all products on their platform and are no longer restricted to just taking orders for and delivering essential products. The new guidelines by the Government of India come into effect on April 20, which allows additional activities subject to operationalization by the states and union territories. This comes at a time when the lockdown in India has been extended to May 3, in an effort to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19. Flipkart, in a statement shared with News18, say they are prepared.
“As a marketplace e-commerce player, we at Flipkart believe that it is our responsibility to enable sellers and the MSME community to bounce back and responsibly facilitate economic activity,” says a Flipkart Group spokesperson. The new guidelines by the MHA will most certainly provide a boost to the economy, with shopping websites being able to take orders for pretty much every product they sell on their websites. The new guidelines have been designed to clarify the operational status of ecommerce platform, which till now had restricted the sale of products to only the very essentials—such as healthcare products and groceries, for instance.
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“Our seller support team is providing constant counsel and on-ground support to sellers on our platform to help them resume operations in a few days. Our analytics teams are supporting sellers with market intelligence to ensure smooth listings on the platforms. Also, our supply chain team continue to maintain an intense focus on safety and health procedures in our facilities and staff that will support the movement of goods for sellers,” says the company.
The guidelines say that all goods traffic will be allowed by ply across the country, except the demarcated containment zones, hotspots or red zones where the spread of infection or the risk, is high. This includes operations of railways for transportation of goods and parcels, operations at airports and land ports for cargo movement as well as movement of trucks and commercial vehicles for pick-up and delivery of goods. “Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions” and courier services will also be allowed to operate, say the guidelines.
There are also specific requirements about social distancing as well as maintaining the basic cleanliness and hygiene standards across the operation chain. “We’re fully aware that e-commerce can further strengthen ‘social distancing’ by safe, contactless deliveries through a sanitized supply chain and help Governments at the centre and states fight this battle effectively. Therefore, we are working with lakhs of sellers, small businesses and artisans across India and helping them prepare their business and workforce to make products available for consumers in this time of need as they continue to stay indoors,” says Flipkart. They say their supply chain is sanitized, will offer contactless deliveries to customers (though one suspects these will be for prepaid orders) and ensure the safety of the last mile delivery process.
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