National Traders’ Welfare Board Holds 10th Meeting

The National Traders’ Welfare Board (NTWB) holds its 10th meeting in hybrid mode, with a focus on strengthening digital governance and stakeholder participation. The meeting highlights initiatives such as DigiDukaan, ONDC integration, decriminalisation reforms, and state-level traders’ welfare boards.

National Traders’ Welfare Board (NTWB):

Dimension	Key Details
Nature	The National Traders’ Welfare Board is an advisory body constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Nodal Ministry	The board is governed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
Constitution date	The board has been constituted on 19 June 2019.
Aim	The board provides for advising the government on policies to improve the welfare of small traders, retailers, and their employees, reduce their compliance burdens, and modernize internal trade.
Objectives (consolidated)	Objectives comprise identifying policy measures for welfare; suggesting simplifications of Acts and Rules applicable to traders; recommending reduction of compliance burden; improving access to funds; recommending social security benefits such as insurance and pension; addressing challenges and issues of traders and employees; and formulating a National Retail Trade Policy to realize the full potential of all formats of retail trade.
Composition	The board comprises 1 Chairperson and 20 non-official members.
Convener	The Joint Secretary dealing with Internal Trade in DPIIT acts as the board’s official convener.
DigiDukaan Platform	DigiDukaan provides for a specialized B2B digital commerce initiative to help small retailers and kirana stores transition into the digital economy, with a pilot in cities like Jaipur and plans underway for a nationwide rollout.
Digital integration	The board provides for encouraging small scale merchants to use the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to expand market reach.
Decriminalisation reforms	The board provides for reviewing and supporting ease-of-doing-business overhauls such as the Jan Vishwas Amendment Act, which has decriminalised hundreds of minor business compliance violations.
Vocal for Local	The board provides for driving campaigns to bolster indigenous, locally manufactured goods across regional ecosystems.
State-level boards	The board provides for encouraging States and Union Territories to set up localized State Traders' Welfare Boards for grassroots grievance redressal.
Rajasthan Trade Promotion Policy (review)	The board has reviewed the newly launched Rajasthan Trade Promotion Policy, covering provisions for trade credit support, customized insurance assistance, and structural fiscal incentives for small traders.