Non-Essentials Will be Delivered in Red Zones, Etailers Welcome the Decision

Ecommerce industry welcomed the government's decision to allow the delivery of non-essential items in the red zones across the country.

The new guidelines for lockdown 4.0 announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) paved the way for a broader resumption of economic activities across most parts of the country.

"At Snapdeal, we are ready and equipped to now start serving customers all across India - in red, green and orange zones - by providing them access to the entire selection of millions of products, a company spokesperson said in a statement.

This would enable lakhs of medium and small online sellers to start rebuilding their businesses as they serve the needs of users in cities and towns across the country.

Srinivas Mothey, Senior Vice President, Paytm Mall said that the move will help them deliver to most of the metro cities which presently fall in the red zones.

"We have received a sizable number of consumer electronics wishlist orders from metro cities where people have been waiting to buy laptops, mobile phones, as well as other daily use items for the last several weeks now," said Mothey.

"The government's decision will also help in opening up supplies of consumer electronics from warehouses which are in the red zones," he added.

The company has had discussions with its merchant and logistics partners and will start taking orders and delivering from Monday.

While some states have supported extension of the lockdown, most have asked for easing restrictions as well as more autonomy in deciding demarcation of areas as red, green, orange zones which as of now is determined by the Centre.

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of India Cellular And Electronics Association (ICEA) said that the nation and industry will now gradually go back to normalcy.

"Ironically our nation's biggest strength of labour availability will now be a challenging factor.

"An all-out effort has to be made to bolster their confidence by ensuring and communicating that all health related measures have more than sufficient capacity and they are at minimal risk," he elaborated.