Lok Sabha Question No. 1590 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-09
Subject: Policy on AI-Driven Commerce and Trader Protection
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Shri Praveen Khandelwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1590.

TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 09 TH  DECEMBER, 2025.

## POLICY ON AI-DRIVEN COMMERCE AND TRADER PROTECTION

## 1590.  SHRI PRAVEEN KHANDELWAL:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the emergence of Agentic Shopping where AI assistants autonomously compare and buy products on behalf of consumers;
- (b) whether the Government has assessed its likely impact on small and medium retailers in the country, particularly those not digitally integrated into large ecommerce platforms; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken to ensure that local traders and MSMEs are not digitally excluded in AI-based commerce systems?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री ( श्री णिणिन प्रसाद ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

- (a) to (c): The  e-commerce  industry  is continuously  evolving  with  new  technologies. These innovations are driven by changing consumer behaviour, expectations, requirements and emerging business models. Agentic shopping is one such technological innovation where shopping is powered by intelligent AI agents capable of anticipating, personalizing, and automating every step of the online shopping process.

The impact of this  AI  driven  shopping  is  presently  prevalent  in  the  digital commerce space. The Government has taken several steps to ensure that small businesses, local traders and MSMEs are not digitally excluded in the emerging  e-commerce environments. Some of the steps are given below:

- i. The Government has launched the India AI Mission to expand access to  AI  tools,  computing  resources  and  data  platforms  for  startups, MSMEs and innovators. The mission  aims  to  strengthen  India's  AI ecosystem through capacity building,  development  of  Indian  AI models, support for AI-driven commerce and startups,  and  the promotion of responsible and trusted AI use.
- ii. The Government has also pioneered the initiative of Open Network for Digital  Commerce  (ONDC).  Unlike  traditional  e-commerce  platforms that operate in silos, ONDC creates an open ecosystem where sellers can reach customers across multiple platforms without being restricted by platform-specific terms and  conditions.  ONDC  supports  small businesses, local traders, and MSMEs by providing a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory discovery within emerging e-commerce environments  through  open  protocols  that  make  all  sellers  equally visible across network regardless of size, scale or digital sophistication. Seller-side apps make their full catalogues discoverable to all buyerside apps, while buyer-  side apps discloses key parameters used for sorting  or  listing  search  results,  enabling  sellers  to  understand  and improve  their  ranking.  Common  open  specifications  adopted  by  all network participants further enhance transparency  and  prevent opaque or biased listing practices.
- iii. Ministry of MSME's Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) scheme has been launched to strengthen the digital capabilities of small sellers including  Self  Help  Groups  (SHGs),  Farmer  Producer  Organisation (FPOs), artisans, rural entrepreneurs,  and  local  retailers  by  providing support  in  digital  literacy,  awareness, cataloguing, and onboarding, with a focus on inclusivity by targeting  50% of beneficiaries as womenled SMEs.

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