The e-commerce companies including Amazon, Snapdeal and Paytm Mall have started taking orders of non-essential items from users across India including those in Red Zones. According to the notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday, India is set for a phase four of the lockdown which is set to last at least until May 31. However, the ministry has said that all activities will be permitted across Green, Orange and Red Zones except for those activities which are specifically listed as prohibited. Unlike the previous notifications, e-commerce has not been listed on the items that are prohibited from the ministry.
E-commerce Companies Begin Taking Orders Across India
As of press time on Monday, Amazon has begun showing delivery dates for users in the Red Zones for all products including mobiles and other electronics. The company previously provided a note to users in the Red Zones that non-essential items were not deliverable.
Similarly, Snapdeal and Paytm Mall have also listed delivery dates for selected items including electronics in the Red Zones. However, Flipkart has marked only the essential items for delivery in the Red Zones with mobiles and other electronics listed as “not deliverable” or “out of stock” in the selected area.
In the initial phases of lockdown, the government permitted e-commerce companies to deliver only essential items across India like healthcare and grocery products. The government in the third phase of the lockdown which began on May 4 eased restrictions as it let e-commerce companies deliver non-essential products in Green and Orange Zones. The users in the Red Zones which included metro cities like Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad were offered only essential products.
The ministry on Sunday further eased its restrictions on the delivery of products by the e-commerce companies across India as it permitted several activities including e-commerce deliveries of non-essential products.
“All other activities will be permitted, except those which are specifically prohibited,” the ministry said in its notification on Sunday. “However, in Containment Zones, only essential activities shall be allowed.”
Containment Zones will Continue to Have Restrictions
The ministry has said that the Containment Zones will have perimeter control to restrict movement of people while essential activities are said to be allowed.
Additionally, it was said that the states and Union Territories can place additional restrictions or prohibit certain activities.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi on Monday said that the company would deliver products across India excluding to users in the Containment Zones.
“We are now delivering to all pincodes except containment zones,” the company said in a note.
