1.58 crore employment in India have been created by online retailers
According to a report prepared by the Delhi-based policy research institute 'Pahale India Foundation' (PIF), e-commerce has been a major employment sector in India. On an average, online sellers employ 54 percent more people than offline sellers and the number of women employees is almost double. The two biggest contributions of e-commerce reach in the retail sector are increased employment and improved consumer welfare.
It said online sellers created 1.58 crore jobs in the country, of which 35 lakh have been given to women. As many as about 17.6 lakh retail enterprises are participating in e-commerce activities. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal released a report titled 'Assessment of the net impact of e-commerce on employment and consumer welfare in India' at a program on Wednesday.
A report prepared by Delhi-based policy research institute 'Pahle India Foundation' does reveal that, over the years, e-commerce has become one of the major employment sectors in India. On average, online sellers employ 54 per cent more people than offline sellers, and have nearly double the number of women employees.
According to the report, increased employment and improved consumer welfare are the two biggest contributors of e-commerce penetration in the retail sector. The report mentioned that e-commerce was not at the cost of physical markets as it was rather getting added in newer areas. "Our data shows that more consumers in smaller towns spend more than Rs 5,000 per month on online shopping than consumers in big cities," the report said.
The report estimates that every e-commerce seller employs, on average, about nine people where two are women. In contrast, every offline seller employs around six people, of which only one is a woman. E-commerce has "revolutionized the retail landscape of the country", former Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar, who was present at the event, said.
