The investigation report, issued last month and seen by Reuters, is the penultimate but most significant stage of the Competition Commission of India probe that started in 2019.

The decision has spooked Amul and global drinks majors including PepsiCo Inc and Coca-Cola, especially after the government declined to change its stance.

Archana Gulati is a long-term Indian government employee, having worked until March 2021 as a joint secretary for digital communications at Modi's federal think tank, NITI Aayog.

The decision follows a one-line statement last week by the National Payments Corporation of India saying, it was not aware of any crypto exchange using its UPI framework.

The suspension has jolted Amazon as it subsequently led to a halt in the arbitration proceedings between the two sides in a long-running commercial dispute.

Amazon has so far successfully used the 2019 Future unit deal to argue breach of certain contracts when the Indian company announced plans to sell its retail assets to rival Reliance Industries.

The documents reveal how Amazon’s private-brands team in India secretly exploited internal data from Amazon.in to copy products sold by other firms, and then offered them on its platform.

The Ministry of Finance described some proposals as "excessive" and "without economic rationale".

The allegations are similar to a case Apple faces in the EU, where regulators last year started a probe into Apple's imposition of an in-app fee of 30% for distribution of paid digital content and other restrictions.

The government's tough new e-commerce rules announced on June 21 aimed at strengthening protection for consumers, caused concern among the country's online retailers.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs outlined rules which include limiting flash sales, reigning in private labels, appointing compliance officers and imposing a 'fall-back liability' if a seller is negligent.

In February, a Reuters investigation showed Amazon had for years helped a small number of sellers prosper on its platform in India, giving them discounted fees and helping one cut special deals with big tech firms.

Amazon is already under investigation by the ED for possible violation of foreign investment rules.

Reuters reported Amazon has for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers and used them to circumvent India's strict foreign investment regulations.

The internal Amazon documents reveal how the firm has helped a small number of sellers prosper, giving them discounted fees and helping one cut special deals with big tech firms.

India is considering revising FDI rules after Indian traders accused Amazon's Indian division and Walmart's Flipkart of bypassing investment regulations.

Carlsberg’s probes and a boardroom dispute come amid other challenges: an antitrust investigation last year concluded Carlsberg India colluded for years on prices with rivals, though a final ruling is pending.

Executives' conversations, WhatsApp messages and e-mails in the report show the firms collectively strategised in seeking price increases in 'several states', forging a cartel that gave them more bargaining power with state authorities.

India's commerce minister Piyush Goyal, last year, told the parliament that the CCI was examining complaints of cartelisation by cement companies.

The US giant has been pressing SEBI to review Reliance's August deal to buy retail, logistics and other assets from Future Group for $3.4 billion including debt.