Govt likely to frame single policy for retail, FMCG & e-commerce: Amitabh Kant

The Government of India is likely to frame single policy for retail, FMCG and e-commerce sector in order to create level-playing field for all stakeholders, said NITI Aayog's chief on Thursday.

NITI Aayog's chief while speaking at the Ficci's sixth edition of Massmerize 2016 in New Delhi stated that the new policy will address all the concerns of industry and consumers.

"To provide a level-playing field to stakeholders, there is a move in the government to harmonise the varied policies of retail, FMCG and e-commerce within a single policy framework, which will address all the concerns of industry and consumers," said Ficci in a press release on Thursday quoting NITI Aayog's chief executive officer Amitabh Kant as saying.

Meanwhile, Ficci has tweeted the event photo on its Twitter handle:

A sense of competition & continuous monitoring at state level now: @amitabhk87 at Valedictory session #MASSMERIZE pic.twitter.com/G8oAYdEs7q

— FICCI (@ficci_india) September 1, 2016

The event was attended by senior-level management representatives of leading retail, FMCG and e-commerce companies. It saw presence of Devendra Chawla from Future Group, Gaurav Mahajan from Raymond Apparel and Raghava Rao from Amazon India, among others.

Kant further said that in today’s globalised world it has become essential for India to become a part of the global supply chain.

"For this, India has opened up its economy and liberalised the foreign direct investment (FDI) regime. Now, India features as the number one nation in attracting FDI, which has given the country access to latest technology, global best practices and global innovation," he said.

According to Kant, in the past the government had encouraged domestic entrepreneurs, but with the entry of foreign players there will be a healthy competition.

"The domestic market would be challenged by the foreign businesses, which would enable indigenous companies to scale up, enhance quality of products and services and penetrate global markets," cited Kant in a statement.

Kant noted that technology will play a significant role in India's retail sector.

"With a growing penetration of the internet, which reaches to rural areas of the country, the retailers would be able to deepen their market," he said.

The retailers should also look at widening their base of suppliers and promote and market made in India goods and products, he further added.

On Goods and Services Tax (GST), Kant said that in order to make it highly effective there's a need for all states to think progressively and work in tandem with the Centre.

The way forward for GST should be keeping the tax rates low and eliminating exemptions, he added.