Govt U-turn on home delivery of non-essential items leaves Amazon miffed, retailer body overjoyed

The government's U-turn on home delivery of non-essential items will leave consumers disappointed, the world's largest online retailer Amazon said, but the decision was welcomed by local kirana store body CAIT that called it the "most pragmatic".

Four days after allowing e-commerce firms to also deliver non-essential items such as electronic goods and readymade garments, the government on Sunday said non-essential items will continue to be prohibited during the lockdown period.

Commenting on the decision, Amazon India said the new guidelines will disappoint consumers whose list of essentials has expanded to 'work from home' and 'study from home' products, as well as small businesses, sellers and manufacturers.

The company said it will continue to follow the guidelines and deliver essential products and work with authorities for expedited processes to make safe deliveries of priority products possible.

"The new guideline will disappoint not only the consumers whose list of essentials ..