Are your out of sugar, rice or toothpaste? Don’t fret. Just call Ola!

The Indian retail industry has presently emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries as several players have started to enter the market. And online cab aggregator Ola is the next to join the bandwagon. Using its fleet of taxis, the Bengaluru-based firm is prepping to roll out a delivery platform, beginning with groceries. This was revealed in an Economic Times report.

The financial daily further stated that this recent plan by Ola is a reflection of its rival Uber's model in several foreign cities where the latter has ventured into logistics. However, industry experts believe that congested roads in India pose a greater challenge to Ola in trying its luck as a delivery service.

The focus of smaller online grocers like LocalBanya, Zopnow, Grofers and PepperTap is limited to hyperlocal deliveries by partnering with local stores. And Ola is adopting the same asset-light model. Flipkart is poised to begin selling groceries from the second half of this year. Amazon India has also launched an express delivery platform in partnership with mom-and-pop stores, calling it Kirana Now. The company is currently running a pilot programme in Bengaluru. Snapdeal has also tied up with gourmet food retailer Godrej Nature's Basket in January to sell about 400 of its products online.

Requesting anonymity, a top Ola executive told ET, "Right now, we are exploring opportunities to see how we can leverage the cars we have on the road to do deliveries as well, and groceries is one of the top sectors we are working out."

He further asserted that the company has not been able to find a suitable partner to launch the service with, and is looking at tying up with offline retailers directly for grocery collection and delivery. Ola may launch a pilot as early as next month.

Another exclusive ET report has revealed that in order to promote IT-based taxi companies in the country, the Modi governement has decided against banning cab-hailing apps like Uber and Ola. However, the government will impose conditions to make their operations safer.

As per the financial daily, the transport ministry, headed by Nitin Gadkari, is likely to issue an advisory within the next three weeks to all states which will clearly state that these services have to be regulated under the Motor Vehicles Act but there is no case for banning them.

IT-based taxi companies sure seem all set for a good time ahead. (Image: thenextweb.com)