A cross-section of e-commerce, telecom & IT companies and representatives from the government will discuss issues related to the e-commerce sector such as regulatory regime, taxation policy, data flows, server localisation, intellectual property rights protection and Foreign Direct Investment, in the first meeting of the think-tank on ‘Framework for National Policy on E-commerce’ on Tuesday.

The meeting, which will be chaired by Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, will also include participation from the Reserve Bank of India and independent experts on e-commerce and related aspects, according to an official release.

There is a lot of ground-work to be done to establish a stable and transparent policy framework for e-commerce in the country as the sector is full of grey areas and there is also not much clarity on the definition of e-commerce.

“The think-tank will seek to collectively deliberate on the challenges confronting India in the arena of digital economy with a view to developing recommendations for a comprehensive and overarching national policy on e-commerce,” the release said.

Other areas for deliberation of the committee include physical and digital infrastructure, technology flows, responding to disruptions in industrial organisation, need for skill development and trade-related aspects.

“The think-tank will explore options for providing a fillip to entrepreneurship in digital economy. It will identify specific policy interventions for nurturing domestic firms and create jobs in e-commerce,” the release added.

Representatives of almost 50 organisations are expected to participate in the first meeting of the think tank. “About nine Ministries and Departments are expected to be represented at the meeting,” an official said.

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