Traders not happy with Walmart-Flipkart deal; 10 lakh to protest today

Since the time US based Walmart signed an agreement with India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart, a lot of turns have taken place over this deal. While it has been revealed that Walmart may complete the Flipkart deal by end of 2018, there are also threats from some 10 lakh traders who have decided to protest against this acquisition today. In May, Walmart had signed an agreement to acquire 77% of Flipkart for a behemoth $16 billion at a valuation of $20 billion which was said to be biggest deal in e-commerce world and also largest FDI deal in India. 

Walmart, which failed to make an entry in India in offline retail space with any kind of success, can now sell its products online to 1.3 billion people in the country.

However, traders' body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said, that nearly 10 lakh traders are going to protest at about 1,000 places across India on Monday against the 77% acquisition of Walmart of home-grown retailer Flipkart. 

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal in a PTI report, alleged that the “e-commerce market place has been vitiated to a great extent in past years by several leading e-commerce companies by indulging into all kinds of malpractices including predatory pricing, deep discounting and loss funding”.

Reportedly, Khandelwal claimed that at a time when there is no policy for e-commerce, it would be a cake walk for Walmart to circumvent the FDI policy Press Note No 3 of 2016.

The objection certificate of CAIT has already filed their objection before Competition Commission of India. In June month, they even pursued both ED (Enforcement Directorate) and Reserve Bank of India in the matter.