The Indian government is investigating recent discounts offered by Walmart's Flipkart and Amazon during festival days, according to Reuters.

The retail giants held festive sales called the Great Indian Festival and Big Billion Days between September 29 and October 4. India Today wrote that during the six-day long sale the companies earned over $3bn (£2.37bn) of gross merchandise value (GMV).

During that period, Flipkart and Amazon dominated, with a market share of nearly 63 per cent.

The commerce ministry official told Reuters that multiple complaints were filed via the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents 70 million retailers across the country.

Now the Indian government is examining papers which claim that the two retailers violated the competition rules and offered hefty discounts.

The rules were introduced by Indian government this February to protect local businesses and deter major online shops.

Reuters says Flipkart and Amazon have already held a meeting with Indian officials to discuss the matter. Both retailers said the talks were productive.