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Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu today promised the CEOs of major retail chains that his government would introduce favourable policies focusing on ease of doing business. For instance, a one-time approval would be sufficient to open as many retail outlets as they want in the state.
“Once a retailer gets approval in the state, a system will be designed to enable the retailer to open multiple outlets just by informing the single-desk (for clearances) and by following basic guidelines,” Naidu told the representatives of major retail chains including Wal-Mart India, Lifestyle International, Future, Trent, Reliance, Aditya Birla besides the Retailers Association of India.
The representatives of the retail chains, who met the chief minister at his office on Friday, requested him to devise a system which will simplify the process and enable them to open new outlets through some basic guidelines. Under the current policy, if a retailer has to open a shop in a city/town, he has to get several clearances each time he sets up a shop in a particular place, according to them.
Further, the chief minister has asked the retailers to work with the government on a draft retail policy, which will give a boost to state’s revenues and modernise the retail industry. He also endorsed the idea of facilitating the setting up of retail zones in the state. The chief minster also gave his nod to 365-day working outlets provided the retailers introduce the shift system for the employees, according to the chief minister’s office.
BS Nagesh of Shoppers’ Stop, Noel Tata of Trent, Rakesh Biyani of Future Group, Retailers Association of India representatives Kumar Rajagopalan and Gautam Jain were among those who met the chief minister.
