In a first, Maharashtra to have own retail policy

'Acche din' may soon be around the corner for small shopkeepers and large retailers. Maharashtra is on the way to become the first state in India to come out with its own retail policy.

The policy, which will cover establishments from kirana shops to malls and even the burgeoning e-commerce sector, will focus on ease of doing business by reducing the licenses, permissions and the time taken to obtain them, increasing business timings and even establish designated 'retailing zones' in cities. It will also moot creation of warehouses to supply to the retail chain, allow women to work on night shifts and loosen stock holding limits imposed to avoid hoarding by shops and establishments and promote the sector, which is being fuelled by the aspirational demand of the emerging middle class.

"The policy will streamline the retail sector," industries minister Subhash Desai told dna. He added that retail establishments would get relaxations in various rules which were in place, including business timings. In Mumbai, shops have to down shutters by 10pm. Desai said the policy would also promote warehouses and cover the e-commerce sector.

"The policy will aim at ease of doing business rather than financial incentives," said Apurva Chandra, principal secretary, industries, noting that "the retail sector has a mass employment generation potential, even for those people who are less educated". He added that the policy envisaged creation of designated retail zones in cities, easing stock limits and allowing women to work on night shifts with the establishments being asked to take care of their safety and transport.

The ease of doing business will be attained through measures like reducing the number of permissions and licenses required and the time and procedures involved in getting them. This will be on lines of the industries department's Maharashtra Industry, Trade and Investment Facilitation Cell (MAITRI) which provides all investment related information, serving as a point of contact for government to business (G2B) services.

"This will be the first such retail policy by any state in the country and other states too can follow suit," said Chandra.

Mohan Gurnani, president, Federations of Associations of Maharashtra, welcomed the move and stressed on the need for ease of business.

According to the Investment and Technology Promotion Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the retail sector accounts for over 10% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and around 8% of the employment in India. The country is today the fifth largest global destination in the world for retail.

It quotes the Boston Consulting Group and Retailers Association of India's report titled, 'Retail 2020: Retrospect, Reinvent, Rewrite' to say that India's retail market is expected to double to US $1 trillion by 2020 from US $600 billion in 2015 driven by income growth, urbanisation and attitudinal shifts.

The division says that with the growth in the retail industry, a corresponding demand for real estate is also being created and the growth in the online mode of retail is also creating a tremendous growth opportunity for domestic and international retail companies. India is expected to become the world's fastest growing e-commerce market and grow from US $2.9 billion in 2013 to over US $100 billion by 2020.