Organised retail should not be politicised: Sahai
States should not take decisions in panic and should not be influenced by political slogans.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: State governments should not politicise the issue of organised retail chains as it will hurt interest of both farmers and consumers, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Subodh Kant Sahai said on Friday.
"I will request the state governments that retail is not an issue. Those who are making it a political issue, are not understanding the seriousness," Sahai said on the sidelines of an Assocham seminar.
States should not take decisions in panic and should not be influenced by "political slogans", he said, adding interest of both farmers and consumers would be hurt by making retail as a political slogan.
Sahai also said he has asked big retailers to include small shop-keepers and intermediaries like Mandi commission agents in their large supply chains.
Organised retail is emerging as a sector which will create a huge market leading to demand-driven farming. "The day the demand-driven agriculture picks up, farmers' bargaining power will increase and their economic conditions will improve," Sahai said.
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His comments in the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh government forcing Reliance Retail and Spencers' to close their retail stores in the state. Kerala is also mulling a law to ban big organised retail chains in the state. Speaking in the seminar, Sahai stressed on eliminating the wastage of agricultural produce, which is to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore per year, as he felt it can contribute one per cent to the GDP by value-addition.
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