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The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will now spearhead the government's e-commerce initiatives as the nodal authority, for all matters ranging from technology to policy.
The DIPP will also have coordinating powers across multiple departments. The development comes at a time when the government is working on a possible e-commerce policy.
The Cabinet Secretariat, in a notification on September 20, said that these rules may be called the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Forty Fourth Amendment Rules, 2018.
The rules come into force with immediate effect, having been approved by President Ram Nath Kovind.
The suggestion to make DIPP the nodal department is learnt to have come from NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant. The proposal was being deliberated on since last year.
Till now, the e-commerce sector was recognized only in the Information Technology Act and the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy.
"Instead of bouncing between ministries, there will be one department which will anchor all e-commerce issues now," a source told Moneycontrol. "Issues pertaining to MeitY, department of finance, everything will now come under DIPP."
The various aspects of the e-commerce are overseen by different departments. While trade falls under the consumer affairs department's purview, FDI comes under DIPP.
Last week the government decided to drop the much talked about draft of the e-commerce policy, in which it had proposed allowing 49 percent FDI in inventory-model e-commerce companies. It now plans to set up a committee of secretaries that will decide on a new set of recommendations.
However, while addressing the media on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said the government was looking at all possible angles.
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