As per the reports, the government has decided to allow e-commerce websites like Amazon and Flipkart to start delivering non-essential items in orange and green zones.
Ecommerce For Non-Essentials Resume
With the latest development, from 4 May, the Indian government has increased the lockdown period by another two weeks.
Although, some relaxations have been made to ease movement in areas that are less or not affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
According to that, all 733 districts of India have been classified into three different categories namely, red zone, orange zone and green zone.
Where the color of these zones indicates the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in that particular district.
Further, the list for these zones will be revised on a weekly basis.
In the future, if any of the red zones transition into the orange or green zone, they will be allowed to order non-essential items from e-commerce websites.
To have that transition, for any red zone district to an orange zone, no new coronavirus cases should be registered for a total of 21 days.
Moreover, any other zone that is not classified as red or green, will also be automatically labeled as orange.
Why Would This Happen?
Countries leading e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and others have been requesting the Indian government to begin the delivery of non-essential products as that will help their small business partners revive their businesses after weeks of lockdown.
During the lockdown, the online retail platforms could only accept orders for essential goods such a groceries, medical products, and so on.
From 4 May, e-commerce platforms will be able to sell as well as deliver essential and non-essential products, but only in some areas.
According to the latest guidelines from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the e-commerce platforms will be able to deliver non-essential products only in Green and Orange zones.
The government has divided the country into three zones: Green, Orange, and Red.
What Does The Ecommerce Company Say?
“We welcome the Government’s decision to allow eCommerce in Orange and Green Zones … Millions of small and medium businesses and traders will now be able to jump-start their businesses and livelihoods across their workforce” said a spokesperson from Amazon.
During its first-quarter results, Amazon stated that its India business has dealt with maximum impact due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Since last month, e-commerce businesses were in for a rude shock after the Ministry of Home Affairs rolled back the order allowing businesses to sell non-essential items online.
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