Which e commerce major signed an agreement with the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) to encourage small and medium enterprises to grow profitably online?

Introduction / Context:
This question combines knowledge of Indian entrepreneurship support institutions and major e commerce platforms. NIESBUD is a government organisation that promotes entrepreneurship and training for small and medium enterprises. To help such businesses sell online, it entered into a collaboration with a large e commerce company. The question asks you to identify which platform signed that agreement.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• NIESBUD focuses on entrepreneurship and small business development.
• The agreement aimed at encouraging small and medium enterprises to grow profitably online.
• The options list popular e commerce companies operating in India.
• We assume the question reflects a widely reported agreement highlighted in competitive exam material.

Concept / Approach:
At various times, Indian institutions have partnered with online marketplaces to train and onboard small sellers. Around the period when this question was framed, Snapdeal was actively promoting such tie ups with government linked training bodies to reach small entrepreneurs, especially in smaller towns. The approach is to recall which company was prominently associated with NIESBUD in news relating to online small business training.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the question is about a specific partnership between NIESBUD and an e commerce company.Step 2: Recall that Snapdeal has often appeared in news about enabling small businesses in India to sell online.Step 3: Compare this with Amazon and Flipkart, which also support small sellers but were not typically highlighted in connection with a NIESBUD agreement in standard exam notes.Step 4: Recognise that eBay India was an important player but less associated with this particular government entrepreneurship institute at that time.Step 5: Conclude that Snapdeal is the correct choice for the NIESBUD partnership.

Verification / Alternative Check:
Current affairs booklets and compilations from the period mention a collaboration between NIESBUD and Snapdeal to train and support small and medium enterprises in selling products profitably through the Snapdeal marketplace. They stress training modules, digital cataloguing, and online marketing support. Similar details are not linked in those sources to Amazon, Flipkart, or eBay in the NIESBUD context, which supports choosing Snapdeal.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Amazon and Flipkart are large and active e commerce platforms in India, but standard exam oriented news about NIESBUD training programmes typically names Snapdeal as the partner. eBay had operations in India but was less central in such government linked initiatives. Therefore, while these companies do support small sellers, they do not match the specific NIESBUD agreement that the question refers to.

Common Pitfalls:
Because Amazon and Flipkart are more famous today than Snapdeal, many candidates are tempted to select one of them purely based on brand recognition. Another pitfall is to assume that any e commerce company could fit the description without checking specific partnerships mentioned in current affairs notes. For such questions, it is important to recall the exact names linked together in the news rather than relying on general impressions of company size.

Final Answer:
The e commerce major that signed an agreement with NIESBUD to help small and medium enterprises grow profitably online was Snapdeal.