Regulatory clarity to enhance credibility of Direct Selling

The Government of India has come up with guidelines on Direct Selling, a much awaited advisory which will bring relief to the Direct Selling Industry towards regulatory front.

These guidelines will help in making a distinction between legitimate Direct Selling and Fraudulent Schemes, operating under the guise of Direct Selling.

"Indian Direct Selling Association welcomes the guidelines on Direct Selling with open arms. This will be very encouraging for the development of the Industry. We wish to thank the government, especially, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for coming out with Guidelines for the Direct Selling Industry," said Chairman Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA), Jitendra Jagota.

"We also appreciate and thank the Inter-Ministerial-Committee, which shared its inputs towards formulating these guidelines," added Jitendra Jagota.

There have been several rounds of meetings among the members of Inter-Ministerial Committee, which comprises of representatives from Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Department of Revenue, Department of Information Technology, Department of Law, along with Chief Secretaries of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi, as well as interaction with the Industry stakeholders and trade bodies, after which the draft Guidelines were formulated.

"As an Industry body, IDSA has shared its views and suggestions on draft Guidelines to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. It is heartening to see the Government making efforts to provide regulatory backing to Direct Selling Industry. These Guidelines also take into account the consumer protection and safety; something that has been a prime concern for the Direct Selling Industry also," said Secretary General IDSA, Amit Chadha.

"In the absence of proper policy or guidelines, numerous fraudulent players have been taking advantage of the situation. Now that the Guidelines are out, it shall address the current concerns of the Industry and provide much needed impetus. We appreciate the government for its efforts for ensuring consumer safety and now await an exhaustive Legislation for the Direct Selling, which will further strengthen the position of the Direct Selling industry having potential to reach Rs. 15,000 crore mark by 2019-20 thereby empowering more and more women of India, the prime contributors of the Direct Selling," added Chadha.

"The Socio-Economic impact of Direct Selling Industry has been immense in the last 20 years, much on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision on Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Women Empowerment. Not only the Direct Selling companies generate self-employment opportunities, they also give training to its sales force. As a result, there has been an increase in skills-sets of millions of Indians. Also, since it does not require a huge investment to start Direct Selling business, every Direct Seller is an entrepreneur in his/her own right. This industry virtually creates leaders out of masses; identifying and recognizing the true potential of a person," Jagota further said.

"One of the best contribution of Direct Selling is empowerment of women; a boon in the lives of millions of women in the country. It offers the women the opportunity to be financially independent by the way of self-employment on their own time, giving women the flexibility to manage their time and maintain balance between their work and personal lives. An Industry having contributed so much to the lives of people will rightly get its due recognition through the Guidelines," opined Jagota.