Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal, one of the apex bodies for associations of retail trade across the country has objected to invitation to industry bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and The Associated Chamber of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM). Commerce Ministry in the central government has organised a meeting on May 17 to get suggestions for a policy on retail trade within the country. They claim that all these trade organisations represent big industries, while retail trade is predominantly by small retailers. In a letter to union minister for commerce and industries Suresh Prabhu, federation general secretary V K Bansal said that, 'It is surprising that all the leading industry organizations like FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI have been given special importance, while Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal, which is the apex federation of all the associations of retail traders in the country has been asked to send only one representative. The issues governing large industries are very different from those by retail traders so it is in the interest of the country that only representatives of bodies for retail trade are invited for the meeting," said Bansal in the letter. There are close to six crore unorganised retail traders in the country. Leaders of the federation say that at a time when the retail trade sector in the country is witnessing a sea change, the central government can play a role in providing level playing field to unorganized retailers with respect to organized retailers, e-commerce market places and small manufacturing companies. "There are aspects like banking and finance where the central government can chip in. After passing a model law for Shops and Establishments Act, it can now guide the state governments to modify the act to reduce compliance of shopkeepers. Governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat have amended laws and reduced compliance burden," said Jayendra Tanna, president of the Federation. LETTER TO PRABHU In a letter to union minister for commerce and industries Suresh Prabhu, federation general secretary V K Bansal said that, ‘It is surprising that all the leading industry organisations like FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI have been given special importance, while Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal, which is the apex federation of all the associations of retail traders in the country has been asked to send only one representative.

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