Hyderabad: Telangana government may allow women employees in the retail industry to work beyond 10 PM under the new retail policy of the state which is currently being drafted.
State Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma today held meeting with officials of municipal administration, industries, labour, and Home Department and deliberated on the proposed policy.
Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce and Energy Arvind Kumar said that the policy has been framed with an objective to boost Telangana's position in the retail trade within the country and to create more employment opportunities for the youth.
"Women employees will be permitted to work beyond 10 PM after taking care of all safety precautions on par with service sector. Retail enterprises have been given an option for self certification and filing of consolidated annual returns under various acts administered by the labour department," he said quoting the proposal in the policy.
The meeting agreed in principle for establishing retail entertainment zones, including kids’ entertainment zones, setting up world class warehouses on Public Private Partnership basis and to recognise distribution centres on par with the service industry.
The government will appoint a nodal officer to facilitate single window clearance, simplification of labour laws, inclusion of food and grocery retailing in essential services, relaxation of stocking limit under Essential Commodities Act, human resources and skill development in retail enterprise among others.
Creation of employment opportunities, promoting grass root and SME entrepreneurship, empowerment of women and farmers, creating demand and support industries manufacturing "Made in India" commodities, growth of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in retail trade, contribution to exchequer are some of the highlights of the proposed policy, Kumar said.
