The Indian government has permitted e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart to deliver non-essential goods to people in red zones. As the fourth phase of lockdown comes into effect to curb the spread of Coronavirus in India, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a list of guidelines which eases up some of the earlier restrictions put in place. 

Previously, the government had prohibited Amazon, Flipkart and likes to deliver non-essential products. Subsequently, these e-tailers were permitted to be fully operational in green and orange zones but many regions fell under the red zone as well where the delivery for non-essential products such as mobile phones and laptops was still not allowed.

On day 54 of the nation-wide lockdown, the government has allowed e-commerce companies to serve their customers in red zones in full capacity and e-tailers are working in full swing to make their services operational in all zones except those declared as contamination zones.

Since the third phase of lockdown, e-commerce companies started accepting orders for non-essential products such as smartphones, laptops and more by customers residing in green and orange zones. Latest smartphones such as OnePlus 8 series, Apple iPhone SE 2020 and more were up for pre-booking with sales commencing in the coming days. 

Now that the fourth lockdown is under effect, the central government has allowed non-essential orders in red zones and we could see smartphone manufacturers resuming their operations with new product launches and online events. Having said that, it is up to the state governments to enforce these new guidelines taking into account the spread of COVID-19 in their respective states. So, it might take a few days for companies to resume their operations in red zones based on whether they receive permission from the state governments and district authorities.

In regard to the latest guidelines, local transport has also been permitted to ply albeit with some restrictions. We also expect to see Uber and Ola resume their services outside of green and orange zones in the coming days.