A day after he had lashed out at e-commerce platforms such as Amazon by red-flagging predatory pricing policies and possible violations of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday sought to dial down the temperature by asserting that he was not against e-commerce per se but only wanted players to ensure fair play and honesty in their business practices.

Speaking to students at Mumbai’s Atharva College, the minister noted that the government was keen to invite FDI and technology that brings the “best of the world” to Indian citizens. The intention, Mr. Goyal asserted, was not to stop online retail or pull down its growth. He also avoided mention of any e-commerce player by name.

“I want to reiterate… even yesterday, I said, online has tremendous benefits. We recognise that, but if there is a law of the land that FDI is allowed in online services only when you do business-to-business, it’s a well thought of strategy. The idea is that our small retailers also can survive and coexist with online services, and unfair competition doesn’t kill them,” he said, repeating concerns about the impact of e-commerce on an estimated 100 million small retailers across the country.

“What the government, what the country only desires, is fair play and honesty for the customer and the supplier of goods and services, and to ensure that our people also have a fair chance to compete against such online businesses,” he remarked.

“That’s all I said yesterday. I’m not against e-commerce. I am looking for a fair deal and integrity in their operation. Why should algorithms guide you to a particular product?” the minister said. He also reiterated his concerns about online pharmacies’ impact on five lakh chemist stores in the country as well as people’s health, and flagged the decline of neighbourhood mobile phone stores with the advent of large-scale retailers and online phone sales.