Flipkart, in which U.S. retail behemoth Walmart holds a more than 80% stake, applied for the licence in 2022, according to the central bank’s approval letter.

Indian research firm Datum Intelligence estimates that 50% of phone sales were online last year, up from 14.5% in 2013. Flipkart had a 55% share in online phone sales in 2023, and Amazon 35%.