NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said that direct selling will have to be given a great thrust as it empowers women, MSMEs and promotes manufacturing in India at the FICCI DIRECT 2016, annual flagship event for direct selling industry held in New Delhi.
Kant applauded the efforts of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs to come up with the guidelines to govern the direct selling industry and is hopeful for its implementation by various States. He added that an effective and time bound implementation of the guidelines would act as a growth stimulator for the budding DS industry.
MoCA Additional Secretary Madhulika P Sukul released FICCI KPMG Report- 2016 - “The Contribution of Direct Selling to Building India.’’
During her keynote address, MoCA Additional Secretary Madhulika P Sukul quoted that she was delighted to see the contribution of the sector towards women empowerment and the figures of more than 60 per cent women workforce associated with the sector has been astounding.
Sukul urged the industry to join hands with MoCA and work towards the effective implementation of the guidelines for the sector that the ministry has come up with. The Additional Secretary promised that the MoCA would continue to work towards the welfare of the consumers with active industry support and encouragement.
Amway India Enterprises GM Anshu Budhraja presented the industry perspective and said the sector has immense potential in terms of the workforce that it trains and the job opportunities it generates.
CAIT General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal emphasised on the need of having a retail policy that will encompass the cross sectoral approach and would help in adding avenues of growth for the sector. Also, Khandelwal quoted that the passing of Consumer Protection Bill.
FICCI secretary general Dr A Didar Singh said, “Indian direct selling industry is an important component of the Indian economy and acknowledging this, we at FICCI through our focused task force on direct selling is working dedicatedly towards the growth of this industry and seeking regulatory clarity for this new industry.”
The event witnessed panel discussions on the topics ‘’Way Forward Post Direct Selling Guidelines’’ and “Direct Selling Contribution in Skilling, Women Entrepreneurship and As Food Distributors.’’ More than 500 delegates attended.