CAIT opposes FDI in e-commerce retail

After the Indian IT industry body Nasscom gave a

green signal in favour of FDI in e-commerce retail sector asking the government to make some amount of local sourcing mandatory, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has expressed strong criticism against FDI in e-commerce retail. It has threatened to launch an all India agitation saying such a move by the government will prove to be a big threat to small shopkeepers.

“The eagerness of the government to provide access to global retailers and e-retailers to Indian retail market through one way or the other needs to be condemned in strong words,” said B. C. Bhartia, National President and Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General of the CAIT, adding, “The government needs to upgrade and modernise the existing retail and only then should consider of opening e-retail sector to ensure equal level playing field-opined trade leaders.”
Both pointed out that with the opening of Indian e-retail, the same set of companies which were eying opening of FDI in retail in multi brand and other established global e-retailers will monopolies the logistics sector and retail sector as they understand that the future of retail is the combination of both offline brick and mortar stores and online stores and in the long run, the e-retail will lead to mass unemployment especially among the traditional shopkeepers, workers, transporters and associated population with minimal infrastructural development.

According to them the FDI in e-commerce will greatly hamper the existing retail trade and MSME sector and will wreck the already dilapidated economic condition of the country and as such the trading community will oppose any move of the government to allow FDI in retail in e-commerce.