Amazon positive on India, but pleads for FDI in e-retail

Global online retail giant Amazon said on Thursday that allowing foreign direct investment in e-commerce will help accelerate growth in the $3-billion Indian e-retail market. 

''We are already very successful but foreign direct investment (FDI) would make it possible to spin it more aggressively,'' Amazon vice-president and managing director India, Amit Agarwal, told reporters on the sidelines of the Economist India summit in New Delhi.

Currently, India does not allow FDI in e-commerce. Nonetheless, Amazon, which operates on a marketplace model in India, has pinned big hopes on the country and has announced an investment of $2 billion to expand its operations.

Most online retailers like Flipkart and Snapdeal follow the online marketplace model, where they connect sellers with buyers.

Amazon, which launched its marketplace in India last year, counts it among its fastest growing markets, and has said it is on track to touch $1 billion in gross sales here.

In India, Amazon sells over 17 million products across categories like books, apparel and electronic gadgets from a growing base of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses.

It also plans to open five new centres across India in addition to its two fulfilment centres (FCs) in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Apart from foreign players like Amazon, industry bodies like Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) are also supporting the move for FDI in e-commerce.

According to IAMAI, only 25 million of over 231 million internet users in India transacted online deals as of December 2013, taking the Indian e-Commerce market to Rs62,697 crore.