The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has urged the Central government to accelerate the formulation of the National Retail Policy and allow retailers to be registered as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to avail benefits to given these enterprises.

In its pre-budget representation, RAI has said that the Indian retail sector was one of the worst impacted due to the pandemic and efforts are required to boost the retail industry to save millions of jobs in the upcoming budget.

The retail industry body has said that retailers are not included within the definition of MSMED Act 2008 and should be allowed to register as MSME. It has also asked the government to incentivise states to adopt Model Shops and Establishment Act, enabling the states to choose to keep shops and other such establishments open 24×7 all through the year. It has also asked the government to decriminalise minor offences under the Legal Metrology Act, a proposal that is under consideration by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Kumar Rajagopalan, the CEO, Retailers Association of India said, “The retail industry was almost squashed during the pandemic. It is slowly getting back on its knees with the opening up of the economy. To get this crawling industry back to its feet and start running, we believe that the budget should address two main things that will bring ease of doing business for retailers and freedom from various procedural strangleholds and access to funds necessary for growth.”

RAI has also recommended modification or extension of the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana Scheme to include financial support for digitalisation to Kiranas & small retailers.

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