<p>Thousands of Indian small businesses will organise an event this week in protest at the business practices of foreign e-tailers like Amazon.com Inc , taking a dig at the US group's summit with their own event.</p>.<p>Starting Thursday, Amazon is organising a virtual summit in India named "Smbhav", which phonetically means "possible" in Hindi, to showcase opportunities offered by the US firm to get small businesses to expand and sell online.</p>.<p>Trader groups representing 6,00,000 sellers said in a statement they will at the same time launch a summit titled "Asmbhav", or "impossible", including an award ceremony to pin the blame on those who they think have hurt their businesses.</p>.<p>Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/amazon-india-launches-mentor-programme-for-startups-emerging-brands-973157.html" target="_blank">Amazon India launches mentor programme for startups, emerging brands</a></strong></p>.<p>Indian traders, who are a crucial part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support base, have long alleged that Amazon and Walmart Inc's Flipkart benefit a few big sellers and that the companies engage in predatory pricing that harms their businesses. The companies say they comply with all laws.</p>.<p>A <em>Reuters</em> special report published in February revealed Amazon has for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its Indian platform and used them to circumvent the country's strict foreign investment regulations.</p>.<p>Amazon has said it "does not give preferential treatment to any seller on its marketplace".</p>.<p>The Smbhav event will include more than 70 speakers and aims to allow small businesses to learn how to grow their businesses in India - a key growth market for Amazon.</p>.<p>The event "puts forth how Amazon and our partners leverage digitisation, technology & our ecosystem to drive infinite possibilities for a Digital India", its website said.</p>.<p>In a statement, trader groups including the All India Mobile Retailers Association said the Amazon event was positioning it as a friend and guide to small sellers, but argued small traders had been harmed by discriminatory practices of foreign e-commerce firms.</p>.<p>The latest dispute comes as India also considers revising foreign investment rules for e-commerce which could force companies like Amazon to rework the relationships it has with big sellers.</p>
<p>Thousands of Indian small businesses will organise an event this week in protest at the business practices of foreign e-tailers like Amazon.com Inc , taking a dig at the US group's summit with their own event.</p>.<p>Starting Thursday, Amazon is organising a virtual summit in India named "Smbhav", which phonetically means "possible" in Hindi, to showcase opportunities offered by the US firm to get small businesses to expand and sell online.</p>.<p>Trader groups representing 6,00,000 sellers said in a statement they will at the same time launch a summit titled "Asmbhav", or "impossible", including an award ceremony to pin the blame on those who they think have hurt their businesses.</p>.<p>Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/amazon-india-launches-mentor-programme-for-startups-emerging-brands-973157.html" target="_blank">Amazon India launches mentor programme for startups, emerging brands</a></strong></p>.<p>Indian traders, who are a crucial part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support base, have long alleged that Amazon and Walmart Inc's Flipkart benefit a few big sellers and that the companies engage in predatory pricing that harms their businesses. The companies say they comply with all laws.</p>.<p>A <em>Reuters</em> special report published in February revealed Amazon has for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its Indian platform and used them to circumvent the country's strict foreign investment regulations.</p>.<p>Amazon has said it "does not give preferential treatment to any seller on its marketplace".</p>.<p>The Smbhav event will include more than 70 speakers and aims to allow small businesses to learn how to grow their businesses in India - a key growth market for Amazon.</p>.<p>The event "puts forth how Amazon and our partners leverage digitisation, technology & our ecosystem to drive infinite possibilities for a Digital India", its website said.</p>.<p>In a statement, trader groups including the All India Mobile Retailers Association said the Amazon event was positioning it as a friend and guide to small sellers, but argued small traders had been harmed by discriminatory practices of foreign e-commerce firms.</p>.<p>The latest dispute comes as India also considers revising foreign investment rules for e-commerce which could force companies like Amazon to rework the relationships it has with big sellers.</p>