Here is what may be in store for Flipkart, Amazon, Uber, Ola and others in India

The government is working on creating a model regulatory framework for e-commerce firms and cab aggregators for regulating the online marketplace.

Minister of electronics and IT, and law Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The government is working on creating a model regulatory framework for e-commerce firms and cab aggregators for regulating the online marketplace. “E-commerce is rising in India phenomenally. It is being driven by rural aspirations and this component is around 56-60% of the entire e-commerce business. My department is framing a model e-commerce regulatory framework,” minister of electronics and IT, and law Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday at the Express Group’s Idea Exchange programme.

He further said: “At times an initiative comes about and the law follows. But my take always is that if you start talking very much in regulatory terms at the outset, the flow ebbs. That’s how I see it. But since e-commerce today has come to stay, law must follow”.

Asked about the charge of predatory pricing in terms of rates of items such as smartphones selling at a cheaper price online than in offline stores, he said the job of the government is to forge some degree of consensus.

“It is not just the IT ministry’s domain, other ministries like commerce are also involved. Here, the issue is also about predatory pricing and the consumer getting better deals,” Prasad added.

On the progress in talks with Apple about the company’s plans for manufacturing handsets in India, he said it is a work in progress.

“The IT, finance and corporate affairs ministries are working on it. Let the process go on. As I have said earlier, India is a huge market and while you expect Apple to come here, Apple also needs to understand that India offers a big market and already so many iPhones are being used here,” the minister said.

Asked whether the government will look at the situation differently in Apple’s case since it is a company which is making hi-tech products, Prasad said it is a decision which is to be taken after discussions with other ministries.