5-9. What are the implications for companies like Amazon and Flipkart to expand into other developing countries? Saifuddin Bhanpurawala is one of dozens of shopkeepers on a dusty Mumbai back street that bustles with customers buying everything from tobacco to perfume.

But Mr Bhanpurawala’s mobile phone shop is going through hard times, selling as few as two handsets in a bad week. He says the reason is obvious: the huge discounts available online at Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, the two biggest players in India’s fast-growing ecommerce sector.

“If we sell something at Rs5,000 [$70], they might sell it at Rs2,500 — we don’t understand how it’s possible,” said Mr Bhanpurawala, 28. He argued that the Indian government’s tolerance of such practices has demonstrated its lack of concern for small businesses: “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.”