Retailers Association demands national policy for internal trade from DPIIT

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The Retailers Association of India (RAI) wants the government to formulate a national policy for retail and internal trade, said its CEO Kumar Rajagopalan.

A National Policy for Retail and Internal Trade, explained Rajagopalan, will help consumers get better prices, more options and convenience while buying. “It will allow greater consumer choice – when, where and from whom they want to buy and also boost employment and GDP.

“Three things help retail—one is place, second is people and third is products. State policy covering all this is already in place but now we want government to implement a national policy for internal trade,” Rajagopalan told Moneycontrol on the sidelines of a two-day RAI summit held in Mumbai.

He said the retail policy is already implemented in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and another 7-8 states are working on the same.

Rajagopalan said the industry body is ready to work closely with newly-named Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which was earlier called Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

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Indian retail market is counted among the top four in the world and is one of the fastest growing. It accounts for 14 percent of GDP and employs over seven percent of the total workforce: the second-largest employer after agriculture.

However, the industry body thinks that the sector is plagued with business challenges such as inadequate physical infrastructure and complex regulatory environment, and sees opportunities in shortage of skilled manpower and low women participation in the sector.

The industry body believes that there needs to be priority focus on development of internal trade in Consumer Affairs Ministry starting with adoption of a National Retail Policy providing direction and a specific roadmap for the country.