Amazon. com, the world's most popular online retail giant, has urged the Indian government to relax its e-commerce law.

Paul Misener, global vice president of the American e-commerce giant, on Tuesday held a meeting with Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma in New Delhi, and urged him to consider relaxing an e-commerce law that currently forbids its Indian subsidiary from selling products directly to customers. Amazon operates in India via its subsidiary Junglee. com.

After the meeting, Misener told reporters, "We talked about [ending the ban on direct sales to customers]. We are trying to find a better way to serve our Indian customers, both sellers and buyers."

When asked whether the Indian Trade Minister made any commitment to make the sought after change in the e-commerce law, Misener said that the Indian government had been very kind to Amazon and the company would continue to grow in the country.

Amazon's Junglee. com, which is a modified version of its shopping portal that allows customers to search for products and make a comparison in prices, has been operating since February last year.

At present, cent per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) is permitted only in B2B (business to business) e-commerce, and not in retail trading. The government of India recently allowed up to 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail sector and 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, subject to certain sourcing conditions.