CAIT To Launch Its Own Ecommerce Portal BharatEMarket In October

Traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) will finally be launching its own ecommerce portal BharatEMarket in October. “In line of aligning physical trade with ecommerce, the CAIT is all set to launch its ecommerce portal Bharatemarket in October,” CAIT said announcing the upcoming launch.

In May, CAIT had tied up with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to plug millions of mom-and-pop or kirana shops in the country to digital commerce. The traders association has clarified that the platform will be very different from the private ecommerce entities and will focus on retailers and customers.

The portal has been promoted by PM Modi’s Startup India and Invest India along with All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation and small business lender Avana Capital. Beginning with groceries, the marketplace will compete with incumbent players viz, JioMart, Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket and Grofers.

The body claims that it will list its 7 crore traders and nearly 40,000 trade associations it represents on the marketplace under the ‘Phygital model’. 

“Marketplace will bring your neighbourhood stores closer to you – just a click away. Simply order on BharatEMarket and get served by those you have trusted for years and even generations,” according to the upcoming portal. 

CAIT in May had announced that the marketplace will not charge commissions and fees from sellers even as orders will be delivered without a fee. The traders’ body ran pilot programmes in Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur and Bengaluru initially and was expanded to more than 90 cities.

CAIT Seeks Early Rollout Of Ecommerce Policy

Meanwhile, on Sunday CAIT sought early rollout of the ecommerce policy to put curbs on alleged malpractices of large ecommerce players in India.

CAIT claimed that the country’s ecommerce ecosystem has been greatly vitiated by large ecommerce companies. It noted that in the wake of the rise in market share of ecommerce in domestic trade, it is all the more necessary to have a robust and well defined policy so that small businesses do not suffer at the hands of large e-commerce firms having “deep pockets” and enormous resources.

CAIT Vs Amazon, Flipkart 

Over the years, CAIT has raised a series of allegations saying that both ecommerce giants — Amazon and Flipkart. This includes flouting foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, eating into the businesses of local traders, and depriving the government of goods and service tax (GST).

The traders association has also reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, minister of industry and commerce Piyush Goyal, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other government departments and officials.