Niti junks job loss fears after Walmart-Flipkart alliance

The Centre's thinktank Niti Aayog on Thursday said that the Walmart-Flipkart deal will give a new "bounce" to India's budding ecommerce space, and junked fears that it will lead to job losses.

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that the partnership will instead promote a business module, where small and medium traders can get quality goods at fair prices to sell at their brick and mortar shops.

Walmart, which has just concluded the $16-billion buyout of India's ecommerce startup Flipkart, has said it plans to spread its wings in India more rapidly in the coming years.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said that there is an opportunity over a period of years to generate another 10 million jobs through the partnership.

"It is a mere confusion that the deal will impact small and medium industries. It will instead give them an opportunity to buy quality products at reasonable rates," Kumar said here.

He was talking on the benefits and losses of the newly struck deal. He said in no way, it will impact employment scenario in India, but will only promote good quality employment.

McMillon, on his part said, it is difficult to put a precise estimate to jobs investment in the ecommerce space but there could be millions of direct and indirect employment.

"There is an opportunity over a period of years to generate another 10 million jobs. I don't want to put a time line but we have analysis to show that," he said, adding that the jobs will be created not just in the company, but with the suppliers who sell their products on the Flipkart platform.

He said that Walmart buys more than 90% of goods locally in every country, where it runs stores and ecommerce business, which helps create jobs.

McMillon said that Make in India is something exciting to him, and he will work to promote that.