As far as e‐commerce is concerned it is still in an infancy stage in India. The environment exist today is not much suitable for the fast growth of e‐commerce. There are various problems and challenges, which should be resolved immediately to achieve a fast growth in this area.
One of the important challenges faced by this sector is the lack of adequate infrastructure for IT technology and Internet. The penetration of personal computers in India is as low as 3.5 per thousand of population compared to over 6 per thousand in China and 500 per thousand in USA.
Another important reason for not developing e‐commerce is the high tariff rate charged by Internet Service Providers [ISPs] Speed and connectivity is also poor.
Another problem faced is that e‐commerce sites are one of the favorite targets of hackers. If you think that your site is not relevant enough to catch their attention, you are wrong, and this way of thinking will help you to prepare to face related risks. And the most serious drawback is the absence of effective cyber law at the moment. E‐commerce is governed by the UNCITRAI model code, but this is not binding on any country. It is expected that all WTO member countries will soon enact laws to govern e‐commerce.
Another cause for the slow growth of e‐commerce is the privacy and security issues. Measures like digital signatures, Digital certificates, and fire walls can be adopted to secure safety and protection over the message passed on internet. Payment related problems also continue to block the e commerce activities.
Electronic cash, credit cards etc. are some of the popular payment method used for e‐commerce transactions. But unfortunately penetration of e‐cash and credit cards not only low, but world consumers are suspicious about the threat of fraud played by unscrupulous hackers. In order to minimize this problem experts suggest the use of digital certificate along with credit card to secure their payment activities.
