E-comm cos roll out non-essential deliveries

After a long hiatus of over a month, in green and orange zones, the government has given a green chit to e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart to commence the delivery of non-essential items. Red zones, however, have still been kept out of the ambit of the delivery of non-essential items. Once the red zones transition into orange/green ones, they too will be allowed such flexibility. Further, this list of zones will be updated on a weekly basis.

The third phase of the pan-Indian lockdown has seen the government ease some restrictions on the movement of people to help revive businesses and keep the economy safe. Since  most cities that are responsible for a major chunk of businesses are still in the red zone, e-commerce giants have been trying to convince the government to allow non-essential items in the red zones as well by adhering to strict hygiene guidelines.

“While we will maintain the sanctity of the new guidelines around the Red Zones, we urge the government to consider the positive role e-commerce can play to get customers all priority products they need in the Red Zones as well, enabling a stronger economic support for the small businesses while prioritising safety,” said an Amazon spokesperson.