The Government is the strong view that a re-orientation of the Policy framework was the need of the hour and enhanced foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi brand retail would transform the rural economy and generate massive employment and opportunities for both the rural and urban youth. The Government feels that there would be no loss of jobs or displacement of small vendors. Instead, it would give a big thrust to the rural economy and Small Township where infrastructure would come up and value addition would take place. This would also help the farmers to get remunerative price. The focus would be flow of investment into cold storage chains, agro processing, food processing, which would reduce post-harvest losses which stood at an alarming 35-40%. Back-end investments will be given priority.
The retail sector accounted for over 7% of the total workforce, with around 30 million people depending on it.
What is causing alarm is the revised National Policy that promised small traders on the roadside and mobile vendors in the urban centers better access to space and an end to harassment by civic authorities is just limping. Only a handful of Cities had take follow-up action, even though the Policy was announced.. This apathy towards street vendors is in sharp contrast to the enthusiasm shown for the organized segment, which constitutes hardly 5% of the retail trade. More than 10 million people across Indian cities earn their livelihood through street vending, which is easy to enter and needs meager capital. Despite its useful role, street vending is yet to be legally recognized, often branded by every lawful agency as ‘encroachment’. This makes the vendors vulnerable to frequent eviction and exploitation by the law enforcers. In order to protect them, the Policy recommended a registration system for vendors and demarcating of city spaces for vending, apart from setting up of town committees with vendor participation. These suggestions, when acted upon, would put all vending activity on a protective and regulatory legal framework. The Association for Vendors have pointed out that more than a lakh applications for licences remain unprocessed since 2007.
Indian Government should take a leaf out of Surakarta City in Indonesia have co-opted street vendors in urban development. The local government there worked with the vendors, ear-marked new places for trading, issued trade free permits and provided tax exemption for the first six months. Soft loans and trining were also arranged to help them improve their business. Bhubaneswar has created 52 exclusive vending zones near the existing areas frequented by the vendors. More than 2,000 vendors have been rehabilitated in these markets without much relocation and loss of earnings. Such progressive measures can be easily adopted by other cities and scaled up where necessary. The Street vendors are a valuable part of the city life and the state must ensure that they are extended assistance to progress. Government of India, when they conceptualized the MSME Act 2006, forgot that retail trade plays an important role in the Village economy. Their trust for mini, micro manufacture, has made them forget that Market potential Value which determines the aggregate purchasing power in the rural level can be ploughed back into the rural economy by establishing outlets to circulate the money within the rural area. In order to do that, the Government should assess Market potential Indicators which is a measure of per capita purchasing power of the rural area.
Our Government is more concerned about focusing on rural areas by bringing in big chains and malls with huge capital, which could destroy the rural economy. The wholesalers dress themselves as Retailers would devour the Rural markets. These wholesalers in the grab of retailers with brands would not only destroy the country’s basic micro, small and medium industries in the food segment, but also devour all the small vendors who live on the business generated by street vending.
The problem with our Planners and Policy makers is that they conceive and conceptualize policies without having an idea of the rudiments of concept of economics of the rural area. People who make Pappads and Pickles, and sell from door to door will vanish when branded pickles and pappads, factory made, will be dumped in the rural markets.
If our Department of Industrial Policy and promotion (DIPP) do little more homework, they would find out that the present FDI in India is around $ 46 billion while the outgo is around $ 13 billion. If the government could take care of the remittance portfolio of non resident Indian which is today $ 40 billion for which our Banks provide a pittance by way of interest rate, our Country can use the money of our own citizens to grow. The falling banks, and withdrawal of Dollar securities, and a slump in investments, and economic disaster of America, has it given Indian Government any lesson? For God's sake, don't forget Gandhiji's words, "Indian economy is rural economy". Don't destroy it.
The retail sector accounted for over 7% of the total workforce, with around 30 million people depending on it.
What is causing alarm is the revised National Policy that promised small traders on the roadside and mobile vendors in the urban centers better access to space and an end to harassment by civic authorities is just limping. Only a handful of Cities had take follow-up action, even though the Policy was announced.. This apathy towards street vendors is in sharp contrast to the enthusiasm shown for the organized segment, which constitutes hardly 5% of the retail trade. More than 10 million people across Indian cities earn their livelihood through street vending, which is easy to enter and needs meager capital. Despite its useful role, street vending is yet to be legally recognized, often branded by every lawful agency as ‘encroachment’. This makes the vendors vulnerable to frequent eviction and exploitation by the law enforcers. In order to protect them, the Policy recommended a registration system for vendors and demarcating of city spaces for vending, apart from setting up of town committees with vendor participation. These suggestions, when acted upon, would put all vending activity on a protective and regulatory legal framework. The Association for Vendors have pointed out that more than a lakh applications for licences remain unprocessed since 2007.
Indian Government should take a leaf out of Surakarta City in Indonesia have co-opted street vendors in urban development. The local government there worked with the vendors, ear-marked new places for trading, issued trade free permits and provided tax exemption for the first six months. Soft loans and trining were also arranged to help them improve their business. Bhubaneswar has created 52 exclusive vending zones near the existing areas frequented by the vendors. More than 2,000 vendors have been rehabilitated in these markets without much relocation and loss of earnings. Such progressive measures can be easily adopted by other cities and scaled up where necessary. The Street vendors are a valuable part of the city life and the state must ensure that they are extended assistance to progress. Government of India, when they conceptualized the MSME Act 2006, forgot that retail trade plays an important role in the Village economy. Their trust for mini, micro manufacture, has made them forget that Market potential Value which determines the aggregate purchasing power in the rural level can be ploughed back into the rural economy by establishing outlets to circulate the money within the rural area. In order to do that, the Government should assess Market potential Indicators which is a measure of per capita purchasing power of the rural area.
Our Government is more concerned about focusing on rural areas by bringing in big chains and malls with huge capital, which could destroy the rural economy. The wholesalers dress themselves as Retailers would devour the Rural markets. These wholesalers in the grab of retailers with brands would not only destroy the country’s basic micro, small and medium industries in the food segment, but also devour all the small vendors who live on the business generated by street vending.
The problem with our Planners and Policy makers is that they conceive and conceptualize policies without having an idea of the rudiments of concept of economics of the rural area. People who make Pappads and Pickles, and sell from door to door will vanish when branded pickles and pappads, factory made, will be dumped in the rural markets.
If our Department of Industrial Policy and promotion (DIPP) do little more homework, they would find out that the present FDI in India is around $ 46 billion while the outgo is around $ 13 billion. If the government could take care of the remittance portfolio of non resident Indian which is today $ 40 billion for which our Banks provide a pittance by way of interest rate, our Country can use the money of our own citizens to grow. The falling banks, and withdrawal of Dollar securities, and a slump in investments, and economic disaster of America, has it given Indian Government any lesson? For God's sake, don't forget Gandhiji's words, "Indian economy is rural economy". Don't destroy it.
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