India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the ministry of commerce and industry has reportedly proposed to formulate a national retail policy to support growth of domestic trade as part of a 100-day action plan prepared by it for the new government. The policy is expected benefit 65 million small traders. The internal trade sub-portfolio was shifted to DPIIT from the consumer affairs ministry in February. The department is already in the process of formulating guidelines on e-commerce. Views of all stakeholders, including state governments, would be taken while framing the policy as retail trade is also governed by the Shops and Establishment Act, implemented by the states, according to a news agency report. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has repeatedly requested the government for such a policy after multinational retail firms entered the Indian retail market and started offering huge discounts. According to the action plan, a large-scale programme for capacity building of managers of small businesses would be undertaken to improve productivity.
Source – Fibre2Fashion.
