Closure of economic activity may lead to the closure of businesses, job losses: Retailer's body

Photo: HTPremium
Photo: HT
 2 min read . Updated: 20 Apr 2021, 09:50 PM IST Kalpana Pathak

MUMBAI : With various states imposing restrictions and lockdowns in the wake of the second wave of covid-19 pandemic, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) on Tuesday said the closure of economic activity may lead to a permanent closure of businesses and millions of job losses.

Stating that the retail industry is beginning to see similar issues repeating in some form that was faced last year, RAI said that non-essential or non-food retail and malls should be allowed to operate with strict surveillance.

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“Shutting down non-essential or non-food retail and malls is not the solution. Considering the impact of last year on business, closure of economic activity at this stage will lead to a permanent closure of businesses, thereby leading to millions of job losses," RAI CEO Kumar Rajagopalan said in a statement.

Instead, there is an urgent need for stricter surveillance to ensure that all rules with regards to safety and hygiene and social distancing norms are being followed by one and all, he added.

RAI said formal retail businesses, especially shopping centers across India have been successfully following standard operating procedures (SOPs) and hence should be allowed to operate with strict surveillance, adding that with each state/local body interpreting the lockdown order and guidelines differently, along with malls, all other large format retail stores are facing restrictions and are being mandated closures at local levels.

It argued that a retail store, not located in a mall but owned by one firm/company with one GST number and single shop license or food license in case of food business, should be considered a standalone store so as “to stop unnecessary and avoidable confusion in the market.

While Delhi imposed a six-day curfew from Monday evening, Maharashtra had announced a 15-day long state-wide curfew from April 14, amid a spike in coronavirus cases. Chhattisgarh has also imposed a lockdown in all 28 districts.

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