Government consults small traders for e-commerce policy

India will not allow multi-brand retail by foreign companies and curb predatory pricing by them while supporting small traders and retailers to grow their business, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

However, bringing in greater controls through rules and laws will only help up to a certain point, he said. For a long-term gain, short term pain will have to be borne. India cannot remain in isolation and will be part of the global value chain to become a five trillion dollar economy in the next five years, said Goyal.

He was holding a meeting with representatives of associations of 'kirana' stores, traders and retailers in the national capital. Ministers of State of Commerce and Industry Hardeep Singh Puri and Som Parkash were also present.

Goyal urged small retailers and 'kirana' store owners to leverage modern technology and avail benefits of government schemes like Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana to expand their business, spruce up shops, increase inventories of high-quality products and pass on the benefits to their employees.

He urged small traders and retailers to come on board the Government eMarketplace (GeM) platform which has achieved a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore.

The minister said the aspect of data localisation is being addressed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). He asked representatives of the associations to send their suggestions for draft e-commerce policy in the next five days.