New Delhi, May 18: The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its revised guidelines for lockdown 4, has allowed e-commerce players such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal to deliver non-essential items across India, including in red zones during the lockdown. Earlier, delivery of non-essential items such as furniture, electronic items, mobile phones and home appliances was restricted to green and orange zones. However, in containment zones, delivery of essential and non-essential products by e-retailers will remain banned during the lockdown. Barbershops, Haircut Salons, Spas to Open Today as MHA Allows Opening of All Shops During Lockdown 4.0.

The MHA has allowed broader resumption of economic activities across the country except in containment zones, while extending the nationwide lockdown till May 31. The relaxation comes as a major relief for the e-commerce players such as Flipkart, Amazon India, Snapdeal, Pepperfry etc. E-commerce platforms welcomed the government's decision to allow the delivery of non-essential items in the red zones across the country. Lockdown 4 Guidelines: What is Allowed and Not Allowed Till May 31? See Full List Issued by MHA.

"At Snapdeal, we are ready and equipped to now start serving customers all across India - in red, green and orange zones - by providing them access to the entire selection of millions of products, a company spokesperson said in a statement. Srinivas Mothey, Senior Vice President, Paytm Mall said that the government's decision will help them deliver to most of the metro cities which presently fall in the red zones.

"We have received a sizable number of consumer electronics wishlist orders from metro cities where people have been waiting to buy laptops, mobile phones, as well as other daily use items for the last several weeks now," Mothey told IANS. Here it may be noted that state governments can issue separate directions for delivery of non-essential items in red and containment zones.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2020 10:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).