Flipkart and Ola broke into the Indian e-commerce space by branding themselves “homegrown” alternatives to Amazon and Uber, respectively.
“What we need to do is what China did (15 years ago) and tell the world we need your capital, but we don't need your companies,” the Economic Times quoted Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal as saying at the Carnegie India Technology Summit.
His words drew criticism, with many crying foul over Bansal seeking government protection for Flipkart, which receives funding from foreign sources.
Speaking at the same summit, Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal said that government protection would help the cab aggregator create jobs in India. Bansal and Aggarwal claim that protection will help their firms dominate local markets, a move which will bring aspects of security, data and privacy under Indian control.
Flipkart’s parent company is based in Singapore while 80 percent of Ola is owned by foreign investors.
Source: Economic Times
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