'Traders have stocked up for upcoming festivals and will make a loss if stores remain shut now. We suffered last year. We can't suffer again. There is no scientific basis for closing all commercial establishments. How long will the government keep them shut?'
Traders' body CAIT on Thursday urged the government to impose a ban on Amazon's e-commerce portal and its operations in India, accusing the global e-tailing giant of indulging in predatory pricing, deep discounting and inventory control. Addressing a press conference, CAIT secretary-general Praveen Khandelwal demanded an "immediate ban on Amazon's portal and its operations in India" and an investigation against the company in a time-bound manner. He also urged the government to probe the business practices of Amazon and Flipkart. However, responding to the allegations, both Amazon and Flipkart said they remain compliant with Indian laws.
Social activists, small traders and farmers organised protests in various cities across India, seeking restriction on foreign players' participation in the retail sector.
Traders are placing great hopes that the next Budget will have some concrete measures on implementation of Goods and Services Tax but some experts doubt the new tax may take more time than expected.
Shops and markets in Delhi opened on Thursday after a three-day trade bandh against sealing of commercial establishments.
The decision to go on strike comes as the Supreme Court-ordered sealing drive against trading activities in residential areas is set to resume from November 1.
On Saturday, an online marijuana sale racket was busted by Bhind police in Madhya Pradesh, leading to the arrest of two persons and seizure of 20 kilograms of the contraband, according to an official. The accused were operating the racket through a leading e-commerce firm, which received two-thirds of the profits generated, as per the official.
The trader's association, CAIT, which has called for a 3-day nationwide strike from Wednesday, has decided to present a petition to President APJ Abdul Kalam opposing the service tax levied on traders and the proposed value added tax from April 1, 20
Traders on Tuesday threatened to launch a nation-wide agitation to protest against imposition of service tax.
CAIT had last month also filed a petition in National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the Competition Commission of India's decision to approve the deal.
Only by slashing its current spending can the government hope to generate the rise in domestic savings of about 6% of GDP required to boost investment to the levels needed to achieve its growth goal of 8% a year.
Traders' body CAIT on Wednesday wrote to Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani and 50 other captains of India Inc, including Ratan Tata, Azim Premji, Gautam Adani, Ajay Piramal, Anand Mahindra and Sunil Bharti Mittal seeking their support in its campaign to boycott Chinese goods. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also urged Kumar Mangalam Birla, Vikram Kirloskar, Rahul Bajaj, Shiv Nadar, Pallonji Mistry, Uday Kotak, Nusli Wadia, Shashi Ruia, Madhukar Parekh, Harsh Mariwala, Satish Reddy and Pankaj Patel, among other prominent industrialists, to join its 'Bhartiya Samaan-Humaara Abhimaan' campaign.
Along with Lord Ganesha and goddess Laxmi, electronic gadgets will also enter the pantheon of Hindu gods this Diwali.
Traders are 'chowkidar' (watchman) of Indian economy, CAIT secretary general said.
The Delhi Hotels and Restaurant Owners Association, which has more than 3,000 budget hotels and restaurants as members in the national capital, has written to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) informing about the decision and the grouping's full support to CAIT's boycott Chinese goods campaign.
CAIT has attributed its displeasure to the economic downturn, and indifferent attitude of ministers/officials towards domestic trade.
'Farmers will block rail tracks in various places. Markets and transport services will be closed during 'Bharat Bandh'
In two months, as many as 25 complaints have been sent to Enforcement Directorate, Competition Commission of India, Reserve Bank of India and income tax department, beside various state agencies, to thwart the deal.
Not displaying the mandatory information, including country of origin, on products sold on their platforms in India, draws government's attention.
E-commerce giant Amazon and Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy's Catamaran Ventures have "mutually decided" to not continue their joint venture (JV) beyond the end of its current term. The JV, Prione Business Services, which has been running successfully for the past seven years, was coming up for renewal on May 19, 2022. The JV enabled over 300,000 sellers and entrepreneurs to go online. It also enabled 4 million merchants with digital payment capabilities, providing these small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and merchants access to millions of customers across the country.
For months, offline retailers and traders have been lobbying hard for a national retail policy to protect their business from the growing influx of e-commerce.
The development comes amid a growing clamour for the boycott of Chinese products in India, combined with the government's push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Swadeshi Jagran will be leading the delegation on a multi-city tour, expected to start on September 21. The week-long trip will include meetings with industry bodies and government agencies.
The Confederation of All India Traders has approached Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and urged them to shut markets in Delhi.
Opposing a government-panel proposal to hike FDI limit in multi-brand retail, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday said such a move will hurt interest of small traders and mostly benefit large corporates.
The order follows a complaint filed by Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh which accused the e-commerce firms of anti-competitive practices like preferential listing, exclusive tie-ups and private labels.
According to sources, all private offices will work from home and only government offices and essential services will be open.
The banned apps include Baidu, Baidu Express Edition, Tencent Watchlist, FaceU, WeChat Reading and Tencent Weiyun, besides PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, according to an official statement.
In its new avatar as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), it will directly be responsible for 'the welfare of traders and their employees'.
While the new norms are part of the draft policy's guidelines to fight counterfeit and fake products on platforms, they might end up helping brands and e-commerce firms sign exclusive sale deals.
Going ahead with its festive sales as per schedule, companies such as Flipkart, Jabong, and Myntra are having week-long Valentines' Day sales, offering discounts of as much as 80 per cent. Amazon India is also offering discounts of almost 40 per cent.
Early GST rollout to help create more jobs, boost output, says IMF.
According to CAIT, e-commerce policy should take within its ambit not only foreign players but also domestic ones.
Ever since the deal was announced of Walmart spending over $16 bn for a 77 per cent stake in Flipkart, the road to the takeover of India's biggest online marketplace has been quite bumpy
The ban in India would hit Chinese internet companies that were making headway in the world's fastest-growing mobile market.
To run 24/7 establishments require infrastructure such as public transport.
However, in recent times, the clout that trader bodies such as CAIT and other organisations like Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Laghu Udyog Bharati has is steadily increasing. Earlier this year, trader bodies were able to convince the government not to extend the deadline for implementation of the new norms in FDI policy on e-commerce.
Retailers claim online firms' predatory pricing strategy disrupting business
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