Ahead of upcoming interim budget, the traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide ease of doing business for small traders. The demands includes the ease of access to loans, lowering GST rates and the regulation of the e-commerce sector.

In a letter to Modi, Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT, urged the government to “conduct a nationwide survey of retail trade to gather financial and social status of the retail sector so that proper policies and programmes may be formulated.”

There are about 7 crore small businesses in India which provide livelihood to 30 crore people and generates a annual turnover of ₹42 lakh crore.

Their demands include the formulation of a National Trade Policy for retail trade and constituting a retail regulatory authority to regulate the sector in the country. Khandelwal said, “To promote e-commerce among trading community, the government should provide assistance to traders by launching a transparent and trustworthy e-commerce portal.”

To help traders avail loans, the CAIT has requested the government to disband direct lending by banks under the MUDRA scheme and instead allow micro-finance institutions, non-banking financial entities (NBFCs) and private money lenders to lend money. CAIT has also urged that banks lend money at a concessional rate of interest to traders. “We also request for a launch of special scheme for encouraging more women to become entrepreneurs,” Khandelwal said.

In terms of GST, the trade body has urged the government to consider providing accidental insurance worth ₹10 lakh for traders registered under GST. “We also want a pension scheme for traders registered under GST,” the statement added.

Related Topics