Ministry of Home Affairs in its latest updates to the guidelines amid coronavirus outbreak has said that the supply of essential items by e-commerce sites like Flipkart and Amazon will be prohibited.
In a statement it said, "In continuation of Ministry of Home Affairs• Order No. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) Dated 15th April, 2020 and 16th April, 2020 and in exercise of the powers, conferred under Section 10(2)(1) of the Disaster Management Act. the undersigned, in his capacity as Chairperson, National Executive Committee, hereby orders to exclude the following from the consolidated revised guidelines for strict implementation by Ministries/ Departments of Government of India, State/Union Territory Governments and State/ Union Territory Authorities: Sub-clause (v) under Clause 14 on Commercial and private establishments v. E-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions."
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued the order to all States and UTs in this regard. According to the order, with the extension of the lockdown, all restrictions that have been imposed in various sectors, and on various activities, will continue to remain in force. These restrictions, which have been spelt out in the Consolidated Guidelines of MHA, would have to be enforced strictly by all Ministries/Departments of the Government of India and by State/Union Territory Governments and Authorities.