Delhi government has recommended the Centre to improve the retail trade sector in the country by simplifying registration laws and introducing innovative trade practices, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a statement on Wednesday.
The government has sent a five-point recommendation letter to the central government’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on the upcoming national retail trade policy.
Among the recommendations are, the introduction of a single ID system for simplified registration of businesses, and establishing a strict monitoring and evaluation framework in the Central Inspection System (CIS) to minimize duplication in inspections.
Other recommendations include increasing the validity of licences to five years, integration of National Career Service Portal and Employment exchange portals with a single-window system, and introduction of a hassle-free process for closure of businesses.
Sisodia said that at present retailers in India are battling for a national policy that can help them with a framework to conduct their businesses in an organised manner. The post-pandemic era has seen a dramatic shift in consumer behaviour which has led to many strategic changes in the retail industry, he said.
The government should think strategically to streamline the industry through National Retail Trade Policy, he added. "National Retail Trade Policy has a great potential to streamline the retail trade industry and can be an accelerator for the socio-economic development of the country," Sisodia said.
A single ID system should be introduced by the central government for retail traders, to simplify the licences and registration process all over the country, he said. Sisodia, who is also Finance minister of the Delhi AAP government, said that in Delhi, several initiatives for promoting retail sector have been taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
A single-window system for licences, extensive skill development programmes, a proposed month-long Delhi Shopping Festival for retail trade promotion, Dilli Bazaar - an e-commerce platform for businesses, are some of these initiatives, he said. The DPIIT has proposed to formulate a national retail policy to promote the growth of domestic trade.
This policy aims to streamline the retail trade and promote ease of doing business in the retail trade sector. Its major objective is to identify and address existing infrastructural gaps affecting the retail trade industry and promote e-commerce all over the country.
Leveraging retail trade for socio-economic development and accelerating investment flow to underdeveloped regions are also among its objectives.
(With PTI Inputs)
