**Executive Summary**
This document is a response to Unstarred Question No. 1590 in Lok Sabha, addressed on December 9, 2025, regarding the government's policy on AI-driven commerce and trader protection. It outlines the government's awareness of Agentic Shopping and the steps taken to ensure that local traders and MSMEs are not digitally excluded in AI-based commerce systems. The response details initiatives like the India AI Mission, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), and the Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) scheme.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **AI-Driven Commerce and Agentic Shopping:**
* The e-commerce industry is continuously evolving with new technologies, including Agentic Shopping powered by AI agents.
* AI agents are capable of anticipating, personalizing, and automating every step of the online shopping process.
* **Government Initiatives for MSMEs and Local Traders:**
* The government is taking steps to ensure small businesses, local traders, and MSMEs are not digitally excluded from emerging e-commerce environments.
* Initiatives aim to provide fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory opportunities for these businesses.
* **India AI Mission:**
* Launched to expand access to AI tools, computing resources, and data platforms for startups, MSMEs, and innovators.
* Aims to strengthen India's AI ecosystem through capacity building, development of Indian AI models, and the promotion of responsible and trusted AI use.
* **Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC):**
* Pioneered to create an open ecosystem where sellers can reach customers across multiple platforms without platform-specific restrictions.
* Supports small businesses, local traders, and MSMEs by ensuring fair and transparent discovery.
* Open protocols make all sellers equally visible regardless of size, scale, or digital sophistication.
* Seller-side apps ensure full catalogues are discoverable to all buyer-side apps, and buyer-side apps disclose parameters used for sorting/listing.
* Common open specifications enhance transparency and prevent opaque or biased listings.
* **Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) Scheme:**
* Launched by the Ministry of MSME to strengthen the digital capabilities of small sellers, including Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), artisans, rural entrepreneurs, and local retailers.
* Provides support in digital literacy, awareness, cataloguing, and onboarding.
* Focuses on inclusivity by targeting 50% of beneficiaries as women-led SMEs.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Small Businesses, Local Traders, MSMEs**
* **Impact**:
* These businesses may benefit from government initiatives aimed at increasing their digital capabilities and ensuring fair participation in e-commerce.
* **Action Required**:
* Leverage the India AI Mission for access to AI tools and computing resources.
* Participate in the ONDC network to enhance visibility across multiple platforms.
* Utilize the TEAM scheme for digital literacy, awareness, cataloguing, and onboarding support.
**Stakeholder: Consumers**
* **Impact**:
* Increased transparency and non-biased search results in digital commerce.
* **Action Required**:
* Be aware of the parameters used for sorting and listing on buyer-side apps to make informed choices.
**Stakeholder: Innovators and Startups**
* **Impact**:
* Access to AI tools and computing resources to develop innovative solutions in e-commerce.
* **Action Required**:
* Utilize the India AI Mission to build and support AI-driven commerce.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Commerce & Industry: The central ministry responsible for commerce and industry, which is the primary subject of the document.
India AI Mission: A government mission aimed at expanding access to AI tools and resources for startups, MSMEs, and innovators.
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC): A government initiative to create an open e-commerce ecosystem to support small businesses and local traders.
Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) scheme: A scheme by the Ministry of MSME to strengthen the digital capabilities of small sellers.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1590.
TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 09TH DECEMBER, 2025.
POLICY ON AI-DRIVEN COMMERCE AND TRADER PROTECTION
1590. SHRI PRAVEEN KHANDELWAL:
Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:
वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री
(a) whether the Government is aware of the emergence of Agentic Shopping where
AI assistants autonomously compare and buy products on behalf of consumers;
(b) whether the Government has assessed its likely impact on small and medium
retailers in the country, particularly those not digitally integrated into large e-
commerce platforms; and
(c) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken to ensure that local traders
and MSMEs are not digitally excluded in AI-based commerce systems?
ANSWER
वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (श्री णिणिन प्रसाद)
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
(SHRI JITIN PRASADA)
(a) to (c): The e-commerce industry is continuously evolving with new technologies.
These innovations are driven by changing consumer behaviour, expectations,
requirements and emerging business models. Agentic shopping is one such
technological innovation where shopping is powered by intelligent AI agents
capable of anticipating, personalizing, and automating every step of the online
shopping process.
The impact of this AI driven shopping is presently prevalent in the digital
commerce space. The Government has taken several steps to ensure that
small businesses, local traders and MSMEs are not digitally excluded in the
emerging e-commerce environments. Some of the steps are given below:
i. The Government has launched the India AI Mission to expand access
to AI tools, computing resources and data platforms for startups,
MSMEs and innovators. The mission aims to strengthen India’s AI
ecosystem through capacity building, development of Indian AI
models, support for AI-driven commerce and startups, and the
promotion of responsible and trusted AI use.ii. The Government has also pioneered the initiative of Open Network for
Digital Commerce (ONDC). Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms
that operate in silos, ONDC creates an open ecosystem where sellers
can reach customers across multiple platforms without being restricted
by platform-specific terms and conditions. ONDC supports small
businesses, local traders, and MSMEs by providing a fair, transparent,
and non-discriminatory discovery within emerging e-commerce
environments through open protocols that make all sellers equally
visible across network regardless of size, scale or digital sophistication.
Seller-side apps make their full catalogues discoverable to all buyer-
side apps, while buyer- side apps discloses key parameters used for
sorting or listing search results, enabling sellers to understand and
improve their ranking. Common open specifications adopted by all
network participants further enhance transparency and prevent
opaque or biased listing practices.
iii. Ministry of MSME’s Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) scheme
has been launched to strengthen the digital capabilities of small sellers
including Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organisation
(FPOs), artisans, rural entrepreneurs, and local retailers by providing
support in digital literacy, awareness, cataloguing, and onboarding,
with a focus on inclusivity by targeting 50% of beneficiaries as women-
led SMEs.
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