Piyush Goyal promises e-comm and logistics firms on easy movement of vital goods

March 28, 2020: The minister of commerce & industry, Piyush Goyal held a video conference with stakeholders from e-commerce and logistics industry on Thursday and assured that the government is committed ensuring the flow of essential goods in a convenient and safe manner thus resolving the issues faced by them due to Covid-19 lockdown.

The meeting was attended by e-commerce companies including Snapdeal, Shopclues, Flipkart, Grofers, NetMeds, PharmEasy, 1MG Tech, Udaan, Amazon India, Big Basket and Zomato, retail operators included Metro Cash & Carry, Walmart and RPG while Express Industry Council, Delhivery, Safexpress, Paytm and Swiggy represented logistics operators.

Had a video conference with stakeholders from e-commerce & logistics industry regarding the issues faced due to #COVID2019 lockdown & discussed measures to resolve them.

We are committed to ensuring that essential goods reach the people in the most convenient and safest manner. pic.twitter.com/0hLNM46pyd

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 26, 2020

“Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been regularly engaging with retailers and e-commerce companies to ensure that the supply chain of essential goods is maintained and various facilities continue to function smoothly. As a result of efforts made by DPIIT, ministry of home affairs has issued standard operating procedure for state government’s guidance on how to handle various aspects related to supply of essential goods,” says the release.

The department has also set up a control room to monitor in real-time the status of transportation and delivery of goods, manufacturing, delivery of essential commodities and the difficulties faced by various stakeholders during the lockdown period.

Meanwhile, the Indian Patents Office has, in view of the lockdown, extended the date for completion of various acts, filing of replies, payment of fees, etc. This will help all those applicants for whom due date for submission of applications for patent, design and trademarks were falling during the lockdown period.