WALMART-FLIPKART DEAL:
CONTINUING ATTACK ON RETAILERS, PRODUCERS, FARMERS & LABOUR,
AND ON INDIA’S DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY
The US based Multinational Corporation (MNC) Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart undermines India’s economic and digital sovereignty and the livelihood of millions in India. If the $ 16 billion deal goes through, two US companies (the other being Amazon) will dominate India’s e-retail sector. They will also own India’s key consumer and other economic data, making them our digital overlords, joining the ranks of Google and Facebook.
The acquisition of the largest e-commerce firm promoted by Indian entrepreneurs is the latest step in a series of developments aimed at circumventing the existing cap on FDI in multi-brand retail by permitting foreign-owned online retail in India, and developing a digital stranglehold by foreign companies over India’s consumer goods value chains.
This process saw the gradual take-over of majority stake in the formerly Indian-owned Flipkart, the entry of the world’s largest e-retailer Amazon, and now the take-over of Flipkart by Walmart. Jack Ma, head of China’s Alibaba, says all e-commerce companies now have integrated online and offline strategies, consolidating operations towards one ‘new retail’. This is also evidenced by recent moves in the US by Walmart to enter e-retail and by Amazon to move into brick-and-mortar retail. It should therefore be clear to everyone that allowing FDI in e-retail in India is but a back-door entry of foreign players into multi-brand retail. Ironically, the same political party, which a decade ago strongly opposed the entry of Walmart into India, is now happy to welcome its far more powerful, digitally-enabled avatar.
India’s domestic digital retail industry will of course suffer by the domination of these two US MNCs. But worst affected will be small brick-and-mortar retail stores accounting for over 90% of the Indian retail sector, SME manufacturers, small delivery companies and suppliers of goods including farmers whose margins will be ruthlessly squeezed, with their behaviour digitally-controlled. Walmart is well-known for its global supply chain, especially of cheap goods from China, which means local manufacturers and suppliers will suffer deep hits.
This is similar to what would happen with FDI in brick-and-mortar multi-brand retail. It will, in fact, be worse, as digitally-enabled ‘new retail’ becomes omnipresent and omnipotent. The concentration of economic power with the two US MNCs, now constituting a potential duopoly in India, will render them too powerful to be meaningfully regulated. In the US, the trail of destruction of small stores, local businesses, small manufacturers and countless workers left behind by Walmart and other giant retailers is well documented, and the EU has also witnessed the same. ‘New retail’ seeks to own and control key data of all trading activity across sectors resulting in unassailable power. National policy or regulatory remits over them would then be as ineffective as they currently are over Google or Facebook. Manufacturers, suppliers and traders, producers and service providers, all become enslaved to digitally controlled platforms, working as per their parameters, but denied any rights or benefits. In this context, it is critical that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) examine the issue of monopolistic trade practices vis-a-vis this deal.
It is argued that Walmart and other retail giants will generate employment, but of what kind? Walmart has a long history of busting trade unions, violating the right to collective bargaining, paying poverty wages and disregarding social security laws. In e-commerce, work will also be outsourced to couriers and other service providers, making it a long stretch to prove that they are workers. Further, even if Walmart and Amazon employ a few thousand more, they are unlikely to neutralise the massive employment loss associated with the collapse of both the formal and informal retail sector. In this business model, whether in retail or in so-called ‘aggregators’ such as Uber, the giant corporations provide temporary benefits to consumers, and hence appearing to be on their side, by squeezing everybody in between including small producers and the vast majority of workers in the supply chain.
Digitalisation will soon be central to a wide range of economic activities, many of these being controlled by MNCs. A sovereign nation must be able to regulate e-commerce companies, making them comply with policies that uphold public interest, and ensuring that all economic actors get their fair share. This will be next to impossible with giant corporations operating from abroad and storing all their data overseas. There is an urgent need to reverse the entry of foreign e-commerce companies and their take-over of Indian entities, and to evolve effective regulations to govern the operations of domestic entities and protect the interests of the different players involved.
Digital companies such as Google and Facebook frequently refuse government or court orders for content take-down asserting that their data, algorithms and platforms operate from the US, and are subject to the latter’s laws. It will not be very different for data and Artificial Intelligence powering e-commerce platforms. This is what makes it extremely difficult to nationally regulate global digital companies, including e-commerce ones, and the reason that digital platforms in key sectors, including on-line retail, should be domestically owned.
After trailing behind India in software technologies till a decade back, China is now a global leader in digital technologies. China has been able to leverage its growing software capability because it has incubated domestically-owned digital e-commerce systems such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, which also store their data locally.
The Government is seemingly blind to, or does not care about, the extra-ordinary dangers that the country would face if India’s e-commerce ecosystems are foreign-owned and controlled. Not just China, but the US and EU have also begun to disallow foreign takeovers of digital companies considered of strategic or economic importance. If the growing tendency of foreign control of digital platforms in key sectors is not resisted and reversed, India runs the danger of what has been called digital colonization.
Citizens of India should be deeply concerned about the ongoing developments in the e-commerce and especially the online retail space, the latest of which is the Walmart-Flipkart deal. We the undersigned, call for an urgent national debate on this important issue of economic independence and digital sovereignty, affecting the interests of many millions of Indians in different walks of life from workers to farmers, small shopkeepers and suppliers, manufacturers and traders, and a host of service providers, apart from potentially compromising consumption data of hundreds of millions of Indians.
Pending a national debate involving all the affected constituencies, and an informed collective decision based on it, we further demand that the Government of India halts Walmart’s takeover of Flipkart, upholds the policy of restricting FDI in multi-brand retail, and draws up a policy in consonance with this for online retail. We also seek a comprehensive policy on leveraging the strategic value of India’s data for the interest of India and her people, and on domestic ownership and regulation of digital platforms in key sectors.
Endorsed by:
Organisations/ Networks
- Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union ( APVVU)
- Adivasi Navjeewan Gathan Nayoti Aagua (ANGNA)
- Ahilya Chamber Commerce & Industry, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
- All Goa FMCG & Telecom Distributors Association (AGFTDA)
- All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC)
- All India Central Council Of Trade Unions (AICCTU)
- All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF)
- All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)
- All India Online Vendors Association
- All India People’s Forum (AIPF)
- All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN)
- All India Public Sector and Central Government Officers Confederation
- All India Retailers Federation, Jammu & Kashmir
- All India Women Hawkers Federation
- All Tripura Merchants Association
- Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA)
- Alternative Law Forum (ALF), Karnataka
- Anti Free Trade Agreement Committee
- Badayl India
- Banabasi Vikash Parishad, Odisha
- Bengaluru Jilla Beedhi Vyapari Sanghatanegala Okkuta, Bengaluru
- Bhai Sudam Deshmukh Shikshan Santha, Nagpur
- Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal
- Bihar Rajya Khadyann Vyasai Sangh, Patna, Bihar
- Campaign Against Fabricated Cases (CAFC), Odisha
- Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA)
- Centre for Workers Education, New Delhi
- Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)
- Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry and Trade (CAMIT)
- Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, Chandigarh
- Chemical Merchants Association, Delhi
- Chhattisgarh Chamber of Commerce & Industries
- Civil Society Forum On Human Rights, Bhubaneswar
- Communist Party of India (Marxist – Leninist) CPI(ML)
- Coorg Organisation For Rural Development, Karnataka (CORD)
- Darbar Sahitya Sansad
- Delhi Grain Merchants Association
- Delhi Hawkers Welfare Association
- Delhi Science Forum (DSF)
- Distributors Stockists Association, Hyderabad, Telangana
- Empower India
- Environment Support Group (ESG), Karnataka
- Federation of Madras Merchants and Manufacturers Association, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Federation of Traders Organisations of West Bengal
- Feminist Learning Partnerships
- Focus on the Global South
- Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN), West Bengal
- Forum against Free Trade Agreements
- Forum Against oppression of Women, Bombay
- Forum for IT Employees (FITE), Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
- Free Software Movement, Karnataka
- Free Software Movement of India (FSMI)
- Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS), Jaipur
- Haryana Vyapar Mandal, Panipat, Haryana
- Hawkers Joint Action Committee
- Hazards Centre, New Delhi
- Himachal State Vyapar Mandal, Una, Himachal Pradesh
- Holistic Approach for Peoples Empowerment (HOPE), Puducherry
- IT For Change
- India FDI Watch
- Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)
- Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers movement (ICCFM)
- Jamnagar Veopari Mahamandal, Jamnagar, Gujarat
- Jan Abhiyan Sanstha, Himachal Pradesh
- Jharkhand Small & Tiny Industries Association, Baidyanath, Jharkhand
- Karaavali Karnataka Janaabhivriddhi Vedike, Mangalore
- Karshaka Munnettam
- Kerala Swatantra Matysa Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF)
- Kerala Vyapari Vyavasai Ekopana Samithi, Calicut, Kerala
- Kisan Morcha, Bikaner
- Knowledge Commons
- Krityanand UNESCO Club, Jharkhand
- LABIA – A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, Mumbai
- Malanad Karshaka Raksha Samithi, Kerala
- Malda Merchants Chamber of Commerce, Malda, West Bengal
- Malwa Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
- Mewat Shiksha Vikas Samiti, Alwar
- NAW- National Alliance of Women
- Nadi Ghati Morcha, Chhattisgarh
- National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
- National Coalition for Education
- National Fish Workers Forum (NFF)
- National Hawker Federation
- National Working Group on Patent Laws and WTO- (NWGPL)
- Nav Jagriti Collective, New Delhi
- New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI)
- Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, Odisha
- Prachi Surakshya Samiti, Odisha
- Prantiya Udyog Vyapar Pratinidhi Mandal, Haldwani, Uttarakhand
- Promotion Sustainable Development, India
- Public Services International, India
- Punjab Distributors Association
- Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal
- Rajasthan Khadya Pradarth Yyapar Mahasangh
- Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh
- Shaheed Bhagat Singh Vichar Manch, Bihar
- Small Business Congress
- Swadeshi Andolan
- Tamilnadu Vanigarsangalin Peravai
- The Grains Rice & Oils Merchants Association, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
- The Indian Chamber of Commerce, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
- The Poona Merchants chamber, Pune, Maharashtra
- Toxics Watch Alliance
- Universal Versatile Society
- Upekshit Shikshan Vikas Pratishtan, Maharashtra
- Uttar Bihar Vanijya & Udyog Parishad, Muzaffarpur, Bihar
- Uttar Pradesh Udyog Vyapar Mandal, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
- Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Akola, Maharashtra
Individuals
- Abha Bhaiya, Jagori Rural Charitable Trust
- Abhishek Joshi
- Achin Vanaik, Retired Professor, Delhi University
- Adv. Aradhna Bhargava, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Madhya Pradesh
- Amarjit Kahlon
- Amit Kumar, National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM), Delhi
- Amitava Mitra, NAPM,West Bengal
- Anamitra Roychowdhury, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
- Anand Mazgaonkar, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat
- Anil Chaudhary, Popular Education & Action Centre (PEACE)
- Anjali Bharadwaj, National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI)
- Arul Doss, NAPM, Tamil Nadu
- Aruna Rodrigues, Sunray Harvesters
- Aruna Roy, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
- Arundhati Dhuru, NAPM, Uttar Pradesh
- Ashish Ranjan, Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan
- Ashok Verma, NAPM, Jharkhand
- Basant Kumar Hetamsari, NAPM, Jharkhand
- Benny Kuruvilla, Transnational Institute
- Bhupender Singh Rawat, Jan SangharshVahini
- Bilal Khan, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Mumbai
- Biswajit Dhar, Professor,Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi
- C.P. Chandrasekhar, Professor,Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi
- C.R. Neelakandan NAPM, Kerala
- Chakravarthi Raghavan, Emeritus, South-North Development Monitor
- Chandan Kumar, Rashtriya Hamal Panchayat
- Cynthia Stephen, Independent Journalist and Development Policy Analyst
- Dayamani Barla, Aadivasi-MoolnivasiAstivtva Raksha Samiti
- Debal Deb, Odisha
- Dinesh Abrol, Professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), Delhi
- Dr Binayak Sen, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
- Dr. Smitha Francis, Institute For Studies In Industrial Development
- Dr. Sunilam, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Madhya Pradesh
- Dr.T.Swaminathan, Professor (Retd), Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
- Eita Jyoti Bandyopadhyay, Indian Institute Of Science Education And Research (IISER ), Mohali
- Eric Pinto, Green Brigade Goa
- Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmatgar
- Gabriele Dietrich, Penn UrimayIyakkam, Madurai
- Gautam Bandopadhyay, Nadi Ghati Morcha, Chhattisgarh
- Geetha Ramakrishnan, Unorganised Sector Workers Federation
- Geetha Nambisan
- Guruwant Singh, NAPM, Punjab
- Gurveen Kaur, Centre for Learning, Secunderabad
- Himshi Singh, NAPM, Delhi
- J S Walia, NAPM, Haryana
- Jabar Singh, NAPM, Uttarakhand
- Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi
- John Peruvanthanam, NAPM, Kerala
- K.P.Sasi, Film maker
- Kailash Meena, NAPM, Rajasthan
- Kaladas Dahariya, RELAA and NAPM, Chhattisgarh
- Kamal Nayan Kabra, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
- Kamayani Bali Mahabal
- Kamayani Swami, Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan
- Kavita Srivastava, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
- Kavitha Kuruganti, Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA)
- Krishnakant, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat
- Lingraj Azad, Samajwadi Jan Parishad & Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, Odisha
- Madhuresh Kumar, NAPM, Delhi
- Mahendra Yadav, Kosi Navnirman Manch
- Mahendra, NAPM, Uttar Pradesh
- Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere, (NAPM) & People’s Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL)
- Manesh Gupta, NAPM, Uttar Pradesh
- Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)
- Meera Sanghamitra, NAPM, Telangana – Andhra Pradesh
- Melton Paka Tauetia, Fusialofa
- Mritiunjoy Mohanty, IIM Calcutta
- Mini Mathew
- Nanhu Prasad, NAPM, Delhi
- Nikhil Dey, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
- Niranjan Bharathi
- P.Chennaiah, Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU)
- Pamela Philipose, Ombudsperson, The Wire.in
- Panchali Ray, Jadavpur University
- Ponniah Rajamanickam
- Prabir Purkayastha, Chief Editor, Newsclick
- Pradeep Esteves, Context India
- Prafulla Samantara, Lok Shakti Abhiyan
- Prasad Bagwe, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Mumbai
- Pravin Nadkar
- Prof. Kusumam Joseph, NAPM, Kerala
- Purushan Eloor, NAPM, Kerala
- R. Padmini
- Rahul De, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
- Rajendra Ravi, NAPM), Delhi
- Rajesh Serupally, NAPM, Telangana – Andhra Pradesh
- Rajinder Chaudhary, Former professor, M.D.University
- Ramakrishnam Raju, United Forum for RTI NAPM
- Rekha Pappu, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad
- Richa Singh, Sangatin
- Rita Manchanda
- Ritu Dewan
- Rohit Prajapati, Gujarat
- S. Krishnaswamy, All India People’s Science Network(AIPSN)
- Samar Bagchi, NAPM,West Bengal
- Samson Nakkala, Gram Abhyudaya Mandali (GRAM)
- Sandeep Pandey, Socialist Party
- Sarang Haritha, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
- Satyaki Roy, Institute For Studies In Industrial Development
- Sejal Dave
- Shahida Murtaza
- Shakun Doundiyakhed, SIEDS Bangalore
- Shankar Singh Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS),
- Sharath Chelloor, NAPM, Kerala
- Shinu Varkey, Assistant Professor, St Berchmans College
- Sister Celia, Domestic Workers Union
- Sister Dorothy, NAPM, Bihar
- Sudeshna Sengupta, Working Peoples Charter
- Suhas Kolhekar, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Sujata Patel, Indian Institute of Advanced Study
- Sukla Sen, Mumbai
- Suma Josson, Filmmaker, Mumbai
- Sunita Rani, Domestic Workers Union
- Suniti SR, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, Maharashtra
- Suresh George, NAPM, Kerala
- Suresh Rathor, NAPM, Uttar Pradesh
- Swarupa Rani, Bhubaneswar
- Swati Desai, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat
- Ujjawal Chaubey, NAPM, Bihar
- Uma, NAPM, Delhi
- Uma V Chandru
- V D Majeendran, NAPM, Kerala
- Vijay Prashad, LeftWord Books
- Vilayodi Venugopal, NAPM, Kerala
- Vimal Bhai, Matu Jan Sangathan
- Vivek Monteiro, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Maharastra
- Xavier Dias, Khaan Kaneej Aur Adhikar