Mediratta calls for separate Retail Ministry
Though India will be hit by global inflationary trends, impact would be less as the country’s internal growth processes continues to remain strong, says Surjit Bhalla, Economist and Former IMF Executive Director for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
But the Government has a major role to play in making credit available to MSMEs. Credit availability and credit price, both are indispensable,” he said, especially calling for support for the retail sector.
He also noted that the recent policy reforms have been good, but stressed that their implementation needs to improve.
“The more transparent the policy is, the better will be the implementation,” Bhalla said at the fifth edition of Retail Samvad – Future of Small Retail: Empowering small retailers & MSMEs to make them future ready.
He also pointed out that many regulations in India are unnecessary and must be reduced.
Acknowledging that India is currently the fastest growing economy, he said, “We are at the cusp of globalization 2.0, thanks to the series of viable economic reforms post 2014, such as in the domain of the PLI scheme, Bankruptcy law, Cash transfers to farmers, GST, social reforms in the area of sanitation, among others. This decade can certainly be termed as ‘India’s decade’.”
Meanwhile, a call was made for a Retail Ministry at the Samvad.
“It is very pertinent that the Government considers a separate Retail Ministry that can exclusively address the retail sector’s challenges,” added Arvind Mediratta, MD & CEO of METRO Cash & Carry India.
Pointing out that the retail is the second largest provider of livelihood after agriculture, he said, “Going forward, we need to offer small retailers a level playing field. We need to ensure that the single window clearance scheme, a major reform for the sector, is implemented on the ground.
“We also need a uniform retail policy across all states and simplification is key for the implementation of the policy. The retail policy must cover aspects like FDI, ease of doing business, labour laws, and reduce regulations in the sector.”
Small retail is witnessing good growth trajectory, leveraging technology and digitization, even across smaller cities and towns, according to Thakur Bhaskar, Sr. Executive Vice President, Head Liability Products and Merchant Acquiring Business, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
“Digital literacy will enable small retailers to store their data digitally, which enables banks to extend credit facility to them.
“Digital ways of doing business will therefore solve a lot of current challenges that small retailers face, even when it comes to accessing affordable credit from organised sources,” he underlined.
Acknowledged Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, “The soul of India lies in its small towns and villages and they are the driving force behind the growth of the retail sector. The Indian retail industry offers a vast opportunity for Indian youth to succeed and thrive.
“The sector also empowers citizens and is the true backbone of India’s growing economy. Through thought-provoking deliberations like Retail Samvad, we can gain valuable insights to empower and strengthen the retail sector in India, thereby contributing to the country’s overall progress towards self-reliance.”
As part of the ongoing initiatives to support MSME’s and Small Retailers India’s apex association, the India Center for Policy Research and Governance (ICPRG), in association with METRO Cash & Carry India, organized the fifth edition of Retail Samvad.
The conclave was attended by eminent leaders from the Retail industry, think tanks, experts from the government and policy space, industry associations, corporate leaders, fintech experts, start-ups, economists and industry analysts, and academicians amongst others, the organizers said in a release on 20 Jan 2023.
The industry experts shared their thoughts on what kind of changes are required in the retail space to provide equal opportunity to small retailers to thrive and how the retail industry can contribute better to the economic growth of the country. fiinews.com
