News Analysis India

Tag: Amazon

  • Madhya Pradesh home minister directs DGP to file FIR against Amazon officials, owner

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Amid a row, the Madhya Pradesh government has directed the police to register an FIR against officials of e-commerce giant Amazon and its owner for allegedly selling products, including shoes, with the image of the Indian national flag, Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Tuesday.

    Amazon faced the ire of a section of Indian social media users over merchandising some products, including apparel and food items, that feature images of the Indian flag, with some saying that using the tricolour in such a way was an insult and a violation of the country’s flag code.

    “It has come to my notice that our national flag is used on products being sold by the online e-commerce platform Amazon. It is intolerable that even it (the national flag) has been used on shoes,” Mishra, who is the state government spokesman, told reporters here. Prima facie, it is a violation of the National Flag Code, he said.”

    “I have directed Director General of Police (DGP) to file an FIR against Amazon’s officials and owner,” Mishra added. This is not the first time that the MP’s home minister has directed the police to file an FIR against Amazon.

    Last November, Mishra had ordered the filing of an FIR against officials of Amazon over the suicide of a youth from MP who allegedly obtained poisonous sulphas (used as an agricultural fumigant and is poisonous) tablets through the e-commerce site.

    The police in the Bhind district had registered an FIR against unnamed officials of Amazon India after busting a gang that allegedly supplied ganja under the guise of selling stevia (a natural sweetener) through the e-commerce portal.

    Amazon had on Monday said it remains committed to take necessary action against sellers who may have listed any non-compliant products. Amazon.in is an online marketplace where third-party sellers offer products for sale directly to customers, and as such is responsible for ensuring compliances associated with the sale of these products, it said.

    “We require all products offered on the marketplace to comply with applicable laws and constantly take appropriate action on non-compliance. Amazon remains committed to taking necessary action against sellers who may have listed any non-compliant products,” the company said.

  • Products made by Jharkhand women go global under ‘Palash’ brand

    Express News Service

    RANCHI:  The indigenous products manufactured by Self Help Group (SHG) women in Jharkhand under the banner ‘Palash’ are now available for sale on Amazon and Flipkart. Officials in the rural development department said out of the total 60 products, nine are available on the two e-commerce platforms.

    More than two lakh rural women entrepreneurs are manufacturing, processing, packaging and selling their products under the Palash brand. Officials said the two global e-commerce platforms had earlier signed MoUs to provide a bigger market for the natural products prepared by the SHG women, who have already started getting orders on the e-commerce platforms. The products available include mustard oil, honey, pickles etc.. 

    Nancy Sahay, CEO of Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), which comes under the rural development department, said a wider variety of products would be available on these platforms by the year-end. She said the JSLPS eventually aimed to make available all the 60 products of Palash on Amazon and Flipkart which will raise the income of SHG women, further encouraging others to get integrated with the brand. 

    “The JSLPS is also going to sign MoUs with local courier partners to expedite cost-effective delivery, as Amazon and Flipkart don’t deliver liquid products on their own,” said Sahay. Expressing happiness over the initiative, rural development secretary Manish Ranjan said the government wanted to ensure good income for these SHG women by providing them livelihood opportunities. “This will not only give the SHG women get good prices for their products, but also a new identity to the entrepreneurship development of these women,” said Ranjan.

    “This is the happiest moment for all of us. We believe we will be able to connect other women like us with the brand Palash so that their income too goes up,” said Shobha Devi of Namkom in Ranchi who makes pickles. Brand Palash is also a hit at the India International Trade Fair in Delhi, she added.

  • E-commerce entities come under CCPA lens for selling sub-standard pressure cookers

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notices to five e-commerce entities, including Amazon, Flipkart and PaytmMall, as well as various sellers for offering pressure cookers that are non-compliant with BIS norms.

    The notices were issued on November 18 to Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Shopclues and PaytmMall, and the sellers.

    As part of celebrations of 75 years of Independence – ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, CCPA has initiated a country-wide campaign to prevent sale of spurious and counterfeit goods that violate Quality Control Orders published by the Centre, the government said in a statement on Monday.

    “The notices were issued to both e-commerce entities as well as sellers of pressure cookers on those platforms. The notices were issued on November 18, ” a senior consumer affairs ministry official told PTI.

    In this regard, CCPA has already issued directions to district collectors across the country to investigate unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights concerning manufacture or sale of such goods.

    Essential, daily use products which have been identified for the campaign are helmets, pressure cooker and cooking gas cylinders.

    “CCPA has taken suo-moto cognizance against e-commerce entities found to be selling pressure cookers in violation to the Domestic Pressure Cooker (Quality Control) Order, 2020 issued by the Central Government under Section 16 (1) of the BIS Act, 2016 on 21st January 2020,” the statement said.

    The authority has sought response from the e-commerce entities within seven days from issuance of the notice, failing which necessary action may be initiated against them under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

    It has also written to DG (Director General), BIS to take immediate cognizance of the matter and take necessary action.

    The department of consumer affairs has provided the list of 13 such products being available for sale on e-commerce platforms.

    ‘AmazonBasics Stainless Steel Outer Lid Pressure Cooker, 4 L (does not give pressure alert by whistle)’; and Quba 5 Litre Induction Base Aluminium Pressure Cooker, Inner Lid are available on Amazon.in. Three products are on Flipkart.com — Quba Aluminium Regular 5 L Induction Bottom Pressure Cooker (Aluminium), PRISTINE Stainless Steel 5 L Induction Bottom Pressure Cooker (Stainless Steel) and DIAMOND by FastColors Outer Lid 10 Litres Aluminium 10 L Pressure Cooker (Aluminium). Snapdeal.com is selling two such products — ABODE 5 L Aluminium OuterLid Pressure Cooker Without Induction Base and Bestech Mirror Finish Induction Stovetop Compatible Cherry Pressure Cooker 5Ltr. Three products are on Shopclues. com — Quba Aluminium Regular 5 Litre Pressure Cooker with Induction Bottom (Aluminium), PRISTINE Induction Base Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker, 5L and Ethical TRI-NATURE Pressure Cooker 5 Litre Induction Bottom Stainless Steel TriPly SAS. Paytmmall.com is offering sale of three products — PRISTINE 5.5 L Outer Lid Pressure Cooker Induction Bottom (Silver , Stainless Steel , Set of 1); Quba 5 L Inner Lid Pressure Cooker Induction Bottom ( Silver , Aluminium , Set of 1 ); and Ethical Cookware Combos Induction Bottom ( Stainless Steel , Set of 1 ).

    As per the BIS order, domestic pressure cookers are mandated to conform to Indian Standard IS 2347: 2017 and bear the standard mark under a licence from BIS with effect from August 1, 2020.

    Pressure cookers which do not conform to the compulsory standards are liable to be held ‘defective’ under the Act, the statement said.

    The government also highlighted that the Rule 4(2) of the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 specifies that no e-commerce entity shall adopt any unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or otherwise.

  • Online marijuana smuggling racket busted in Madhya Pradesh, Amazon under police scanner

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: Premier online shopping and e-commerce platform Amazon is under Madhya Pradesh police scanner following the arrest of two men in the central Indian state’s Bhind district. The two men arrested with 20 kg ganja (marijuana) were found to be using the top online shopping platform for smuggling the contraband narcotic substance from Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) to Madhya Pradesh.

    The two men identified as Suraj alias Kallu Pavaiya (native of Morar in Gwalior) and Pintu alias Bijendra Singh Tomar (who runs a roadside dhaba in Bhind district) were arrested with 20 kg ganja. The ganja consignment was sourced from Visakhapatnam using the Amazon platform.

    “Subsequent investigation based on the grilling of the arrested duo has revealed that they had been sourcing the contraband narcotic substance using the major online shopping platform since the last four months.  Around one tonnes of ganja (marijuana) had already been sourced by them in the last four months using the same platform. Monetary transactions worth Rs 1.10 crore had taken place during the last four months,” Bhind district police superintendent Manoj Kumar Singh told The New Indian Express on Saturday.  

    Based on the duo’s grilling, an aide of the arrested men has been picked up for questioning in Haridwar (Uttarakhand). The ganja sourced by the racket from Andhra Pradesh was not only sold from the roadside dhaba in Bhind, but also supplied to other parts of MP, including capital Bhopal, Dewas, Agar-Malwa and Gwalior districts, besides Kota district of Rajasthan and Haridwar (Uttarakhand).

    Further probe revealed that the narcotic racket, that the racket’s kingpin Suraj Pavaiya had registered as a seller of herbal products and Curry Leaves with the top online shopping portal using details of a Gujarat-based textile company and also subsequently got the power to generate barcode from the same portal.

    “The arrested duo’s grilling has also revealed that over 66% of the share of the monetary transactions went to the online shopping major. We’re going to send notice to Amazon soon, as the online shopping portal has failed on multiple counts to check this nefarious online smuggling of the narcotic substance. If further probe establishes that the online shopping platform too is at fault and part of the crime, then it will be booked under 29 NDPS Act” the Bhind district police chief said.

  • RSS-linked weekly hits out at Amazon, terms the latter as ‘East India Company 2.0’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: E-commerce major Amazon has been termed as “East India Company 2.0” by the RSS-linked weekly, Panchjanya, which has also alleged that the firm has paid crores of rupees in bribes for favourable government policies.

    In its latest edition, which will hit the stands on October 3, Panchjanya has carried a cover story that is highly critical of Amazon.

    “Whatever the East India Company did in the 18th century to capture India, the same is visible in the activities of Amazon,” the article titled “East India Company 2.0” reads.

    Claiming that Amazon wants to establish its monopoly in the Indian market, it says, “For doing so, it has started taking initiatives for seizing the economic, political and personal freedom of the Indian citizens.”

    Hitting out at Amazon’s video platform, Prime Video, the article says it has been releasing movies and television series that are against the Indian culture.

    It also alleges that Amazon has established many proxy entities and “there are reports that it has distributed crores in bribes for policies in its favour”.

    Amazon is locked in a legal tussle over the takeover of Future Group and is facing a probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

    There have been reports that the US e-commerce giant is investigating alleged bribes paid by its legal representatives in India and it spent a staggering Rs 8,546 crore or USD 1.2 billion in legal expenses for maintaining a presence in the country during 2018-20.

    The main opposition party, Congress, has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the alleged bribery case involving Amazon.

    Earlier, RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagaran Manch had also demanded action against e-commerce players like Amazon for circumventing laws detrimental to the interests of traders and indulging in unethical business practices.

  • Congress wants SC-monitored probe in Gujarat drugs haul, Amazon ‘bribery’ case; seeks answers from PM

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress Wednesday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the large drugs haul in Gujarat and in the alleged bribery case involving e-commerce firm Amazon, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer the nation on these “very serious” issues of national security.

    “These issues are concerned with the country’s security and those involved in these issues are guilty of sedition and that is why the prime minister will have to answer the nation,” Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

    His statement came a day after an official said the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 2,988.21 kg heroin worth crores of rupees from two containers at the Adani-operated Mundra port in Gujarat’s Kutch district and subsequently.

    Those involved in these cases are “traitors”, Surjewala said.

    “Should this matter now not be investigated by a special commission of sitting judges of the Supreme Court and a special SIT be put at their disposal,” he said.

    He also rejected suggestions of seeking a CBI probe, saying, “How can CBI probe those who are its bosses?” He said the shocking revelations in the two cases have shaken the conscience of the country.

    On the Amazon case, he said it has now come out that the e-commerce giant spent Rs 8,546 crore in “legal fees”, whereas India’s Law Ministry’s annual budget is only Rs 1,100 crore.

    “The so-called alleged bribery of Rs 8,546 crore was being given to whom in the Modi government? Who received the money? Was this money given to annihilate the trade and business of crores of small shopkeepers, MSMEs and traders so that e-commerce company like Amazon could take away their businesses and livelihood?” he asked.

    Amid reports of Amazon probing bribery-related charges against some of its legal representatives in India, the US e-commerce giant has said it takes allegations of improper actions seriously and investigates them fully to take appropriate action.

    The Congress leader alleged this amount has not been given to a clerk and it is likely that this money is given to top people in this government.

    “Will the prime minister of India raise and demand from his US counterpart that criminal action be initiated in the United States for alleged bribery against Amazon. Will the Prime Minister answer whether this is not a serious breach of national security?” he asked.

    Modi left for United States on an official visit this morning.

    “The layers of corruption, the unpardonable conspiracy of pushing India’s youth into a cycle of drugs, the loss of crores of jobs – the responsibility of Modi government is now writ large,” Surjewala said.

    He said the government has “totally failed” and these cases should be investigated by a sitting Supreme Court judge.

    Referring to the Gujarat drugs seizure, he said it was the world’s biggest drugs haul that happened at Adani Mundra Port.

    He also alleged that same company whose drugs were seized imported 25,000 kg of the same types of drugs worth Rs 1.75 lakh crores in June 2021 through the Adani port, perhaps “the biggest ever in the history of the world”.

    Noting that according to the media reports Ashish Traders whose import-export licence was allegedly used for the trade received Rs 10 lakh as commission.

    “Who is the drugs cartel? Why is the drug cartel prospering right under the nose of Narendra Modi and (Home Minister) Amit Shah?” he asked.

    “Is this not pushing India’s youth into the menace of drugs? Where are those drugs now? Is it not a breach of national security as these came from and are connected to the Taliban and Afghanistan. Why has Adani Mundra port not been investigated?” he asked.

    The Congress leader alleged that the Narcotics Control Bureau, the DRI, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, Intelligence Bureau, Home Ministry and everybody else has been “sleeping”.

    This is not a Congress versus BJP issue, he said, adding it is the question of the youth of this country and also concerns the future of small businessmen and traders.

  • Maharashtra FDA issues notices to Amazon, Flipkart over ‘sale’ of pregnancy termination pills

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Authority (FDA) on Thursday said it has issued notices to e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart after it allegedly found that pregnancy termination kits and pills are available for sale on these platforms without prescription.

    The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 prohibits online distribution of such medicines without any prescription, it said in a statement here.

    Acting on a tip-off, the FDA placed orders for “medical termination of pregnancy” kits on Amazon, and the order was accepted by some suppliers based in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, the authority alleged.

    A similar case was found with Flipkart, the FDA alleged. The statement did not give any details of the notices. All in all, it “checked” 34 e-commerce portals to see if they sell medicines without prescriptions, the FDA said.

  • Tomorrow War 2 in works; Chris Pratt to return

    By Express News Service
    Though there is no official word from Amazon or Skydance, about the sequel of Chris Pratt-starrer Tomorrow War, reports state that they are already in talks for it. The film made its debut on Amazon Prime Video on July 2, gaining massive viewership.

    Amazon has apparently decided to capitalise on the buzz and has started planning for the follow-up film. Director Chris McKay and screenwriter Zach Dean will reportedly be returning for the planned sequel in development, as well as a majority of the starring cast from the first instalment including Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, and J.K. Simmons.

    A whole new bunch of actors are also expected to join the sci-fi film. An official announcement about Tomorrow War 2 can be expected soon from its makers. The Tomorrow War is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

  • Future Group-Reliance deal: SC to hear on July 20 Amazon plea against Delhi HC verdict

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will hear on July 20 the Amazon plea against the Delhi High Court verdict which stayed the directive by its single-judge and paved the way for the multi-billion dollar deal to amalgamate Future Retail Ltd (FRL) with Reliance Retail.

    A bench of Justices RF Nariman, KM Joseph and BR Gavai was informed by senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Future group, that a Singapore tribunal will commence hearing on the issue from July 12 and requested that the proceedings on the appeals be adjourned for a week.

    Senior advocate Gopal Subramanian, appearing for the US-based e-commerce giant, said he had no problem if the hearing on the appeals was adjourned by a week, as they will be busy next week before the tribunal.

    The bench then posted the matter for further hearing on July 20. On February 22, the top court had asked the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) not to pass the final order on the amalgamation. The Future group had moved the tribunal seeking regulatory approvals to the Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance.

    Amazon moved the top court against the order of the Delhi High Court division bench which paved the way for the Reliance-FRL deal. On February 8, the division bench had stayed the single judge direction to FRL and various statutory authorities to maintain status quo on the mega deal.

    The interim direction was passed on FRL’s appeal challenging the February 2 order of the single judge. The high court division bench had also declined Amazon’s request to keep its order in abeyance for a week so that it can explore appropriate remedies.

    In August last year, the Future group had reached an agreement to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units to Reliance. Subsequently, Amazon took FRL into an emergency arbitration before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) over an alleged breach of contract by the Future group.

    Amazon had first filed a plea before the high court (single judge) for enforcement of the October 25, 2020 Emergency Arbitrator (EA) award by SIAC restraining FRL from going ahead with its Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail.

    The high court division bench had however said that it was staying the single judge order as FRL was not a party to the share subscription agreement (SSA) between Amazon and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) and the US e-commerce giant was not a party to the deal between FRL and Reliance Retail.

    It had further said it was of the prima facie view that the shareholding agreement (SHA) between FRL and FCPL, the SSA between FCPL and Amazon and the deal between FRL and Reliance Retail “are different” and “therefore, the group of companies doctrine cannot be invoked”.

    Another reason given by the court for its interim order was that there was prima facie no reason to seek a status quo order before the single judge. The high court had said there were a lot of contentious issues involved in the matter and it was not going to adjudicate on them at this stage.

    It had also said that its observations were only prima facie and the single judge ought not to be influenced by them when pronouncing the order on Amazon’s plea for enforcement of the EA award by SIAC restraining FRL from going ahead with the deal.

    FRL, in its appeal, had claimed that if the February 2 order was not stayed it “would be an absolute disaster” for it as the proceedings before the NCLT for approving the amalgamation scheme have been put on hold.

    It had contended that the single judge’s status quo order will effectively derail the entire scheme which has been approved by statutory authorities in accordance with law.

    In its suit before the single judge for enforcing the EA award, Amazon has sought to restrain FRL from taking any steps to complete the transaction with entities that are a part of the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (MDA) Group.

    Amazon has also sought detention of the Biyanis, directors of FCPL and FRL and other related parties in civil prison and attaching of their properties for alleged “wilful disobedience” of the EA order.

    After the SIAC’s EA order, Amazon wrote to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), stock exchanges and CCI, urging them to take into consideration the arbitrator’s interim decision as it is a binding order.

    FRL thereafter moved the high court to restrain Amazon from writing to Sebi, CCI and other regulators about SIAC’s order, saying it amounts to interfering with the agreement with Reliance.

    A single judge on December 21 last year had on FRL’s plea passed an interim order allowing Amazon to write to the statutory authorities, but also observed that prima facie it appeared the US e-commerce giant’s attempt to control Future Retail was violative of FEMA and FDI rules.

    Against the observation, Amazon moved an appeal before a division bench and during its pendency, it filed the suit for the enforcement of the EA award.

  • Netflix yet to discover a great film director: Cannes Film Festival chief

    By AFP
    CANNES: Netflix and the other streaming giants have yet to discover one great director, the head of the Cannes Film Festival said Monday.

    Thierry Fremaux threw petrol on the simmering feud between the French festival– the world’s biggest — and the US platform when he challenged reporters to “name me a director who has been discovered by a platform” on the eve of Cannes’ opening.

    “Not yet, even after 10 years…”, Fremaux added archly as journalists struggled to come up with a name.Netflix has effectively boycotted Cannes since 2018 after being told it had to show its films on the big screen in France if it wanted them to compete for its Palme d’Or top prize.

    While Fremaux praised Netflix — which began streaming in 2007 — for their”extraordinary work”, he was quick to turn the knife in his defence of the magic of the big screen.

    ALSO READ: Excitement as Cannes Film Festival reopens after pandemic hiatus

    “We just celebrated the 125th anniversary of the invention of cinema. Let us see if in 100 years we will celebrate the birthday of the platforms. “I don’t think Netflix or the others can skip the Cannes film festival,” he warned. “Youwillseethe names of the future in our line-up…,” he added. “That is why the dialogue must be opened.”Relations between Cannes and the Californian tech giant began to turn sour in 2017 after French cinema owners protested over the inclusion of two of the streamer’s movies in the main competition.

    ‘A bigger situation’The following year Cannes changed its rules requiring a French release for films competing for the Palme d’Or, but allowing streaming-only movies out of competition.

    Netflix retaliated by withdrawing three films from Cannes at the last minute in a move that seemed to be timed to cause maximum chaos.

    With the cinema world aghast, and Cannes cast as the defender of the big screen and traditional cinema, Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings later admitted that they had gone too far.

    “Sometimes we make mistakes. We got into a bigger situation with Cannes than we meant to,” he said.

    In public, both sides have seemed keen to kiss and make up. Fremaux said Monday that they were “friends… We talk all the time”.

    Yet three years on, Netflix is still giving Cannes Film Festival the cold shoulder while rival Amazon is happy to play by the rules.

    Amazon has two movies at Cannes this year, including the opening film”Annette” starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.

    While Netflix insists a French law stopping streamers showing movies there for three years after their release is too restrictive, Fremaux’s patience appears to be wearing thin.

    The French law was already being reviewed, he said, and Cannes’ own rule” is not that tough…”But Netflix does not want to abide by even that, nor does it want to bring films that are not in competition.”