TAKING AIM at the world’s biggest e-tailer Amazon, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal Wednesday expressed concern over the surge in growth in e-commerce business, and said it could be the result of “predatory pricing”, and may lead to “social disruption” since it would adversely impact an estimated 100 million small retailers across the country.

“Are we going to cause huge social disruption with this massive growth of e-commerce? I don’t see it as a matter of pride that half of our market could possibly become part of the e-commerce network ten years from now,” said Goyal at the launch of a Pahle India Foundation’s report ‘Net Impact of E-Commerce on Employment and Consumer Welfare in India’. Pahle India is a not-for-profit chaired by Rajiv Kumar, former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog.

Singling out Amazon and suggesting it was indulging in predatory pricing and selling products directly to consumers even though it isn’t allowed to, the Commerce and Industry Minister said, “Are predatory pricing policies good for the country? When Amazon says they are going to invest a billion dollars in India, we all celebrate. We forget the underlying story —that billion dollars is not being invested in any great service or in any significant way to support the Indian economy. They posted a billion-dollar loss in their balance sheet that year.”