UP traders' group wants protection from e-commerce, plans protest

A study found that young consumers (up to 30 years of age) were key to drive cashless payments

Central and state governments should change e-commerce policies to protect traditional retailers from the “onslaught” of global e-commerce giants, said Uttar Pradesh traders on Friday.

Millions of small retailers will be ruined if they don’t get a level-playing field against online platforms, said members of the Uttar Pradesh Adarsh Vyapar Mandal.

“The end result is that day by day, the small traders are losing out on their business and are even compelled to seek job with these big companies instead,” said Mandal president Sanjay Gupta.

He also alleged that traders were also not getting loans under the Narendra Modi government’s flagship MUDRA Yojana as well to compete with modern retail.

Traders received a protest march called ‘Sampoorna Kranti Rath Yatra’ in Lucknow. The 90-day protest march is organised by the Confederation of All India Traders and it started from Red Fort in Delhi on September 15.

Protesters will travel across 28 states before gathering in Delhi later this month with a rally to press for traders’ rights, protest the Walmart Flipkart deal and foreign direct investment in the domestic retail.