Traders' body CAIT demands ban on China's Huawei, ZTE from India 5G rollout

The traders' body has written a letter in this regard to Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday urged the government to not allow Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE to participate in 5G network rollout in India, raising concerns on data security.

The traders' body has written a letter in this regard to Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The 5G refers to the next-generation mobile networks that promise super-fast download speeds and the ability to support critical infrastructure and, therefore, is more critical from the point of accruing data, it said.

"We may like to mention that in several countries both Huawei and ZTE Corporation have been charged with a laundry list of crimes including conspiracy, money laundering, bank and wire fraud.

"We are sure that our above request will be considered by you and necessary decision will be taken to protect not only the security of the country but also the privacy of the people of India through data and as such both Huawei and ZTE Corporation will not be allowed to participate in 5G network rollout in India," CAIT said in the letter to Prasad.

E-mails sent by PTI to Huawei India and ZTE India did not elicit any response till the time of filing the story.

US Federal Communications Commission recently designated Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE as "national security threats", saying the major step was aimed at protecting American communications networks from security risks.

CAIT to launch a nation-wide movement against Amazon and Flipkart

Union Minister Piyush Goyal had last month said the government was looking into alleged predatory pricing by Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon.

Business Standard : Traders' body CAIT on Sunday said it will launch a nation-wide movement to protest against e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart, alleging that they are flouting FDI policy norms and destroying the country's retail business.

In a statement, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, "Both Amazon and Flipkart still continue to sell goods on their portal at predatory pricing, deep discounting, controlling inventory, promoting preferential sellers and influencing prices."

Union Minister Piyush Goyal had last month said the government was looking into alleged predatory pricing by Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal criticised the attitude of Amazon and Flipkart and said the traders' body is all set to launch a national movement on this issue soon.

The traders' body has also convened a meeting of its National Governing Council in New Delhi on November 10.

Khandelwal informed about the different phases of the movement and said that on November 13, CAIT delegations will submit a memorandum to all MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha across the country. On November 20, dharna will be organised in about 200 cities in all the states of the country.

On November 25, traders' march will be organised in 500 districts of the country and a memorandum will be handed over to district collectors.

On November 28, protest marches will be organised in more than one thousand towns and cities of the country against the unethical business practices of these companies.

On December 2, Traders' rally will be held in all the state capitals in which thousands of traders from across the state will participate and on the same day, the CAIT delegation will submit a memorandum to the chief ministers of all states.

Khandelwal also said that on this issue, a rally of prominent business leaders from all over the country will be held in Delhi around December 10, which will include thousands of traders from all over the country, while in January CAIT will hold a three-day National Traders Convention in the national capital, to be attended by over 10,000 merchants across the country.

Govt probing Flipkart, Amazon over alleged predatory pricing: Piyush Goyal

CAIT had in a letter on Monday urged Goyal to order an audit into the business model of all e-commerce firms.

Business Standard : The government is probing Wal- Mart-owned Flipkart and Amazon over the alleged predatory pricing, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

Warning of stringent action as per the law for any violation, he said detailed questionnaires have been sent to these companies and their response is awaited. 

According to media reports, the e-commerce majors have grossed up over $3 billion in gross merchandise value during the festive sales held over the past fortnight, which typically see over half of their annual sales.

"E-commerce companies have no right to offer discounts or adopt predatory prices. Selling products cheaper and resulting the retail sector to incur losses is not allowed," Goyal told reporters.

They are also not permitted to own products and sell them, he said and that they are only platforms helping sellers connect with potential buyers. Without specifying the exact transgressions, Goyal said his ministry has received complaints from the traders body CAIT alleging violations of norms by these players.

"A detailed questionnaire has been sent to them. Today or tomorrow, a supplementary questionnaire will also be sent," he said and reminded that he had earlier also warned these e- commerce players.

"We will take stringent action against them, if there is violation of any law in letter or in spirit. The law is clear. Action will be taken as per the law," he said.

The national traders body CAIT had in a letter on Monday urged Goyal to order an audit into the business model of all e-commerce firms and the foreign-owned Amazon and Flipkart in particular. In the letter, CAIT also said since Amazon and Flipkart claim that individual brands are offering discounts, government should convene a meeting with major brands to ascertain the truth.

"The business model of Amazon and Flipkart should be audited by the government to arrive at the real conclusion," it said in the letter.

Following the complaint from the traders body, senior officials of the department for promotion of industry and internal trade had met with Amazon and Flipkart representatives last week.

Goyal scotched rumours that the Railways might exit its ticketing arm IRCTC which had a stellar stock market debut earlier this week following a hugely successful IPO. There is no plan to fully sell IRCTC. This is speculation based on wrong information, he said.

Pulwama attack: Bharat bandh hits business worth Rs 25,000 cr, says CAIT

According to CAIT, the day-long bandh saw seven crore business establishments remain closed across the country, including Delhi.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Monday said that business worth about Rs 25,000 crore was hit due to the "Bharat Trade Bandh" that was called to protest against the recent Pulwama terror attack.

According to CAIT, the day-long bandh saw seven crore business establishments remain closed across the country, including Delhi.

"Business of about Rs 25,000 crore was hit due to today's 'Bharat Trade Bandh'," the confederation said in a statement.

"In the wake of tremendous and spontaneous voluntary response from traders across the country, the CAIT has decided to create a Special Relief Fund exclusively for the welfare of the forces," it said.

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Business Standard