About 25% of Indian small businesses on verge of closure: CAIT

19 September 2020: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that about 25 per cent small shops and businesses (about 1.75 crore), across India are on the verge of closure amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

CAIT said that the domestic trade of India is suffering amid the worst days of the century due to Covid-19, which has brought the traders on their knees with no sign of respite in the near future. The Indian domestic trade consists of more than 7 crore traders providing employment to more than 40 crore people.

CAIT said that the banking sector has so far failed to provide formal finance to this sector since only 7 per cent of the small businesses are able to obtain finance from banks and other financial institutions. The rest of the 93 per cent traders are dependent upon informal sources to meet their financial requirements.

The trade body urged Prime Minister to take immediate action to resolve the crisis of the traders and announce a package policy to help them in revival of their business.