New Delhi, Jul 29 : The commerce and industry ministry will set up a ‘National Traders Welfare Board’ to advise the government to reduce compliance burden and improve availability of funds for traders, according to a notification.
The central government will nominate chairman and up to 15 members to the Board, said the notification of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which comes under the ministry.
Of the 15 members, five will be persons with special knowledge of matters related to technical aspects of retail trade, and the remaining from trade associations.
The Board will also advise the government on simplification in laws concerning traders and recommend suggestions regarding their social security benefits like insurance, pension and health care.
The domestic trade, which comprises over 6 crore business enterprises, contributes around 15 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. It provides employment to about 25 crore people.
Currently, there is no institutional mechanism to understand the issues and problems faced by traders in their day-to-day business operations for growth of retail trade and welfare of traders and their employees, DPIIT said.
In April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing traders had announced that for systematic communication between the government and traders, a National Traders Welfare Board will be set up.
