Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

India's commerce minister faces heat for criticism of businesses including Tata

Published 08/14/2021, 05:18 AM
Updated 08/14/2021, 05:20 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Piyush Goyal, India's Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry, attends a session at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Piyush Goyal, India's Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry, attends a session at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

By Abhirup Roy and Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's commerce minister faced heat on social media on Saturday for his remarks that many big domestic businesses had overlooked national interests and that $106 billion Tata Group's objections to proposed policy changes for e-commerce had upset him.

At an event organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Thursday, Minister Piyush Goyal criticised Tata and more broadly said local businesses should not just focus on profits or think of bypassing local laws, according to media reports and a source who attended the event.

The comments caught public attention and stoked a debate on social media after The Hindu newspaper reported on Saturday the government had asked the CII to block videos with Goyal's comments.

Two links to those videos on Goyal's speech shared with journalists were now marked private and blocked. The CII and Goyal's office did not respond to a request for comment.

"The kind of language used against industry captains & calling their work against nation's interest is shameful ... CII should demand an apology instead of helping him by pulling down the video," said Priyanka Chaturvedi, a lawmaker and opposition leader.

A spokeswoman of India's main opposition Congress Party, Supriya Shrinate, said on Twitter Goyal's remarks were "undignified".

Goyal's comments on Tata came after Reuters last month reported https://reut.rs/3eLCfJo the conglomerate was among most vociferous in telling the government in a July meeting that proposed e-commerce rules will have a major impact on its business https://reut.rs/3dDlJdI and bar its joint venture partners like Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) from selling goods on Tata's shopping websites.

At the CII event, Goyal said Tata's objection to the rules had hurt him, saying he had conveyed that position to Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, the source who attended said.

Tata declined to comment on Saturday.

Goyal has also repeatedly criticized https://reut.rs/3qs5aXw Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT)'s Flipkart for allegedly bypassing foreign investment rules for e-commerce. This week, he also invoked the "Quit India" movement https://reut.rs/3AwPsho in parliament as he welcomed a court order that allowed an antitrust probe of the two companies to continue.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Piyush Goyal, India's Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry, attends a session at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The Confederation of All India Traders, however, welcomed Goyal's stand on Saturday, saying it was "highly unfortunate" that Tata was opposing government's e-commerce rules.

The 153-year-old Tata Group has big e-commerce plans and is planning launch of an app that will integrate several of its top brands, but the proposed policy changes have spooked it, Reuters has reported https://reut.rs/3eLCfJo.

Latest comments

Tata's is one of India's best companies.. very socially driven. Criticizing them is completely unwarranted.
Tata is far better than any comapnies in India if they have to enter the market the won’t try to bully the other company
what are the reason behind to fall
500 to 1000 point down on Monday minimum
Not surprising coming from a corrupt official from one of the most corrupt modern economies in the world.
Yes Fii will rethink and go away ,quit India will happen
is this comment will have any negative impact on market on monday??
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.