Nagpur: Modi government in its first Cabinet meeting has cleared pension scheme for small and marginal traders. Media reports suggests that this is a contributory scheme wherein traders have to contribute certain amount and the government will match the same and the beneficiary trader will get pension up to Rs. 3000/- per month after attaining age of 60 years. It is understood that traders who fall within the age bracket of 18 to 40 years and have annual turnover under GST less than Rs. 1.50 Crore shall be eligible for the scheme.
Demand for Social security for traders was pending since time immemorial. Traders have been giving gratuitous service of collecting indirect tax on behalf of government and instead of treating traders as partners in r evenue collection traders were treated as tax evaders and were seen as non-compliant sect of society. This negative portrayal by men in government resulted in high handedness by tax/law enforcing agencies.
Dipen Agrawal, President of Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry & Trade ( CAMIT ) said that even though the scheme at first sight looks meagre, we welcome this decision of Modi government in its first Cabinet meeting for the simple reason that there is a change in the thought process of the persons at the helm of governance. It is for the first time that any government has thought of securing the future of traders, we will wait for the finer details of the scheme and work with the government to make this small gesture a social security scheme for traders in real terms, he added. He further thanked Narendra Modi honourable Prime Minister & the government for their thoughtful gesture towards small retail traders of which roughly 3 crore traders are expected to benefit across the country .
