CAIT write to PM, wants separate retail ministry

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting his intervention in formulating a national trade policy for the retail sector and setting up a separate ministry of internal trade. Except retail, all other sectors like small industries, farmers and labourers have a separate policy and a ministry, said the traders body in its communication to the PM.

"...retail trade (which is) being conducted by 5.77 crore business enterprises in non-corporate sector, providing employment to 46 crore and contributing 45 per cent to national GDP has been grossly neglected post-independence and has neither a policy nor a separate ministry," stated a CAIT statement.

“In absence of a trade policy, it said, different verticals by circumventing the laws and rules, are encroaching upon the businesses of other verticals thereby creating an overlap, and the worst sufferers are small businesses due to their limited resources. The overlapping by one vertical on another has created an uneven level playing field much to the disadvantage of small businesses," it added.

The traders further suggested a special working group comprising of senior officials and stakeholders may be formed to do a study of the retail trade, its bottlenecks, prospects of growth and remedial measures.