Lok Sabha Question No. 1793 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-10
Subject: e-Commerce Market
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Shri Eswarasamy K

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

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1793.

TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 10 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026.

## E-COMMERCE MARKET

## 1793.  SHRI ESWARASAMY K:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

be pleased to state: वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री

- (a) whether it is a fact that India is the fastest growing e-Commerce market in the world;
- (b) if  so,  the details of growth and compound annual growth during the last five years and the current year, year-wise;
- (c) whether Ministry has found any bottlenecks which are hampering further growth of e-Commerce in the country;
- (d) if  so,  the details thereof and the manner in which the Ministry is planning to clear those bottlenecks; and
- (e) the manner Ministry is going to help e-Commerce penetration into rural and uncovered areas?

## 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 (e): The e-commerce sector in the country has witnessed growth in recent years, driven by increased digital adoption, improved logistics, and wider participation of  consumers  and  enterprises  across  regions.  The  growth  and  compound annual growth of e-commerce market is not centrally maintained.

The expansion of the sector is supported by an evolving regulatory framework for fair competition, consumer protection, data security and transparency, in line with the extant laws and guidelines governing the digital marketplace.

The e-commerce sector in the country comprises multiple stakeholders and operating models, and its expansion necessitates greater integration of local retail, wider penetration beyond  metropolitan areas, and easier digital participation for small sellers, including those in rural and uncovered areas.

To address these aspects, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade  (DPIIT)  has  pioneered  the  initiative  of  Open  Network  for  Digital Commerce (ONDC). ONDC is a neutral, interoperable and open network that enables  small  sellers,  including  those  in  rural  and  uncovered  areas,  to participate  in digital commerce without dependence on any single proprietary e-commerce  platform.  ONDC  unlike  traditional  e-commerce  platforms  that operate in silos, creates an open ecosystem where sellers can reach customers across  multiple  platforms  without  being  restricted  by  platform-specific  terms and conditions. ONDC plays a big part in ensuring that small businesses, local traders and MSMEs are  not digitally excluded in the emerging e-commerce environments by providing a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory discovery within  emerging  e-commerce  environment  through  size,  scale  or  digital sophistication. ONDC has enabled partnerships with a wide range of logistics service  providers  to  improve  last-mile  delivery,  warehousing  and  fulfilment options for small and rural sellers. Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), providing support to Self Helf Groups (SHGs), which include

In  addition,  Ministry  of  Rural  Development  under  its  initiative  of  Deendayal is rural entrepreneurs and artisans for adopting e-Commerce for marketing and sale of their products. Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) through its  initiative  of  MSME  TEAM  (Trade  Enablement  and  Marketing)  supported 'Raising  and  Accelerating  MSME  productivity  (RAMP)  program  to  empower Pan India MSMEs to expand their market reach via e-commerce. The TEAM Scheme digitizes MSME operations and promotes e-commerce adoption by providing  MSMEs  access  to  the  government-backed  ONDC  for  online storefronts, digital payments, and logistics; enabling seamless onboarding and cataloguing without the need to build individual e-commerce platforms.

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