<h1>FDI in e commerce: marketplace model allowed under automatic route while inventory-based model remains prohibited.</h1> FDI in e-commerce permits the marketplace model under the automatic route while prohibiting inventory-based e-commerce. Full foreign investment via automatic route is allowed for companies engaged exclusively in B2B e-commerce. Retail e-commerce is permitted when a manufacturer sells products made in India, when an existing single-brand brick-and-mortar retailer moves online, or when an Indian manufacturer sells its own single-brand products; the investee must be the brand owner, manufacture the majority of products in India in-house, and source a limited share from other Indian manufacturers.