Coronavirus: Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm Mall to deliver non-essentials from April 20

The Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India has allowed the movement of vehicles belonging to ecommerce companies with effect from April 20. Companies like Amazon and Flipkart would be thus, allowed to deliver non-essential items as well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his third address amidst the lockdown, announced that the 21-day countrywide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus would be extended till May 3. PM Modi said that there would be strict enforcement of lockdown regulations till April 20, and that there could be some easing after that, depending on the situation in each state.

According to media reports, the government clarified that all facilities in the supply chains of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or ecommerce companies, should be allowed to operate from April 20.

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Srinivas Mothey, Senior Vice President of Paytm Mall told YourStory:

"The government's decision has come at a very crucial time. This would help a host of non-essential goods merchants as they had to stop operations during this period of lockdown. We are already speaking to brands and our merchant partners so that they can start can go live with all categories on Paytm Mall. We believe that there is going to be a massive demand for electronics and mobile phones and accessories as many of our consumers have been reaching out to us to know when these categories would be live again." 

Earlier in March, ecommerce giants Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall temporarily stopped taking orders for non-essential items due to the restrictions imposed during the nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.

In fact, companies had complained that their delivery executives were being hassled by local police despite government orders to exempt them from lockdown restrictions. With local authorities shutting down warehouses and stopping trucks from crossing state borders, ecommerce players witnessed immense disruptions in their operations.

Recently ride-hailing giant Uber announced that it was partnering with grocery delivery unicorn Bigbasket to address the growing needs of consumers to access everyday essentials amid the lockdown.