CAIT says government will likely release draft national retail policy soon

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jun 27, 2019

The Confederation of All India Traders expects the government to release a draft national retail policy soon to help Indian retail businesses grow and adapt to the fast-changing retail climate.

CAIT said after a meeting on Tuesday with the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion’s secretary Ramesh Abhishek that the government could release a draft national retail policy within 10 days, the Press Trust of India Reported. 

"In a meeting convened by the Ministry of Commerce today [June 25] with trade associations for discussion on the national retail policy, DPIIT secretary Ramesh Abhishek, who chaired the meeting, said a draft of national retail policy will be released in next 10 days seeking comments from trading fraternity," said CAIT’s statement.

CAIT’s secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said that a national retail policy will help the industry to grow and that it should focus on modernising Indian retail. CAIT represents Indian traders and has been vocal about its belief that the Indian government needs to prioritise domestic businesses over foreign investors. 

The DPIIT has already released a draft e-commerce policy for which it is still receiving feedback. The draft retail policy would cover India’s traders and aim to increase ease of doing business. The policy would also fit in with the government’s ongoing move to digitise the economy.