With the new year 2016 just roundthe corner, it would very muchbecome a breakthrough year for

the Direct Selling industry! The much awaitedguidelines on Direct Selling industry areawaiting the final nod from the Departmentof Consumer Affairs and are likely to beannounced any time now. Experts projectedDirect Selling may touch a whopping INR 645bn by the year 2025. Direct Selling is goingto boom.

Announcing this at the FICCI (Federationof Indian Chamber of Commerce andIndustry) organised DIRECT - 2015, a annualevent on Direct Selling Industry at K K BirlaAuditorium, FICCI, New Delhi on December8, Mr. Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department

of Industrial Policy and Promotion, participating as ChiefGuest, said that the draft guidelines have already beenforwarded to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and a formalapproval is only needed to announce them. He urged theMinistry of Consumer Affairs Department to expedite theissue of guidelines so that the industry would getimmediate relief from the law enforcing authorities andcreate conducive atmosphere to direct sellers. “Theguidelines would help all the concerned officials to becomeliterate about the direct selling industry and distinguishbetween genuine direct selling companies and thefraudulent ones, operating ponzi schemes. This industryis very important because it creates jobs and large scaleemployment. If India has to grow rapidly at 9-10 per cent,the key challenge is to create jobs and this industry doesit effortlessly. Further, it also empowers women. You areall part of 'Make In India' story and are making India. You

are also helping to boost MSME sector", he said.Emphasising that India is a very major hub for

direct selling and would continue to be, he pointedout that direct selling is very different from ponzischemes. "Tax and police officials lackunderstanding about it. You need to make thegovernment literate about it. You are going to boom.It is a legitimate business creating jobs and pushingMSMEs. The States must clearly be told that thereare guidelines. The guidelines will be issuedshortly", he said.

"We are pushing for ease of doing business.We know business is going to create jobs and onlyby creating jobs India can grow rapidly. DirectSelling means creating jobs", he said.

Asser ting that Direct Selling will be animportant channel contributing to the nation'sgrowth, he said, "Direct Selling is practiced inmore than 170 countries globally. A healthy mixof direct selling and e-commerce would give therequired momentum to India's growth and weare pushing for clarity on this issue. It is notpossible for anybody to stop technology. Weshould use technology to leap from. The biggesttransformation is taking place in the Country. Thepopulation in India is getting younger and by2040 it would be a young India. India will becomea middle class economy and 50 per cent of theIndian economy will be driven by middle classby 2040", he opined.

"The draft guidelines have already been sent

to the Department of Consumer Affairs and I wish they would beannounced soon", he said.

Earlier, Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI in hiswelcome address said that the whole world is now looking atIndia. "The response to 'Make In India' concept is tremendous.New ways of marketing like e-commerce and direct selling areforaying into the market. Direct Selling brought employmentpotential to the Country. The kind of support that we got from thegovernment is very high. You are representing the marketdirectly", he said.

Mr. Rajat Wahi, Partner, KPMG, while presenting a report'Direct Selling - Mapping The Industry Across Indian States',said that the Direct Selling industry has the potential to reachINR 645 billion by the year 2025. "Delhi continued to grow fast at60 per cent, while Assam grew at 46 per cent and Punjab grewat 38 per cent. While Gujarat is also registering fast growth, West

Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are growinggood. The industry contributes to the society and the government exchequerthrough taxes. This is just another channel of distribution", he said.

"While other industries are trying to resist the implementation of Acts andguidelines set by the government, this industry is crying for guidelines, sectorspecific legislation and the amendment of the PCMC (B) Act", Mr. Rajat Wahipointed out.

Mr. Praveen Khandelwal, while lauding Mr. Amitabh Kant for understandingthe subject well, said, "Direct Selling is a big business. It is a integral verticalof retail trade. The Direct Selling companies or distributors should not beharassed or victimised".

Mr. Bejon Misra, Founder, Consumer Online Foundation, sharing hisviews on the subject said, "Guidelines on Direct Selling will make apathway as it would provide clarity to some extent which is lacking atpresent. We must have an exclusive law for Direct Selling. If not in thissession, at least in the budget session of the Parliament, we need to geta law. Can we prepare a draft bill and present it to the government forenactment".

Mr. Zakir Hussain, Director (Internal Trade), Ministry of Consumer Affairs,Food & Public Distribution, speaking on the challenges that the industry is

facing and the solutions being worked out at thegovernment level, said that it became very important tothe government to protect the consumer. "The InterMinisterial Committee formed to frame the guidelines forDirect Selling industry had recently met and finalised theguidelines. We will see the effectiveness of the guidelinesand then we will decide on legislation. We want to gostep by step. We are not closing the issue by framingguidelines. We are providing the guidelines only as ainterim relief to the industry. We are working andprotecting the industry", he said.

He emphasised, "There is great energy in this industryand I assure you to clear the hassles as early as possible".

Meanwhile, Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh, Head, School ofCorporate Law, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, whohad published a 'White-paper on Regulation of DirectSelling In India', said that the absence of regulation playeda critical role in receding this industry. "The PCMC (B)Act is being wrongly applied to this industry. When PCMC(B) Act is formed, Direct Selling was not there in theCountry. It should be observed here that 'Prize Chits' donot have any products. But, in Direct Selling, you sellproducts. The law enforcing authorities could notdifferentiate between legitimate and illegitimate

companies and that is where the problem lies. Mysubmission is that you need to have a special legislationfor this industry. However, issuing guidelines is a welcomestep and efforts to get the law enacted should continue",he opined.

Mr. Suhan Mukerji, Partner, PLR Chambers, sharinghis opinion said that the PCMC (B) Act is a veryambiguous law. "Under-trained law enforcing authoritiesare confused about the direct selling industry. The industryis self reliant. We need to have a 'stand alone' legislationon Direct Selling. Industries with 'stand alone' laws havealways flourished", he observed. He was of the opinionthat guidelines will not stop the harassment being metedout to genuine direct selling companies and a 'stand alone'law is very much essential.

Mr. Amb Richard Holwill, Member, WFDSA RegulatoryAffairs Committee, said that the direct selling industry ishighly field oriented and is beneficial to all. "This industryneeds definitions that reflect local concerns. They lead toconsistency in regulation of the industry. Without regulationit is very hard to move from one point to another", he saidadding, "I want to see India lead and India will lead iflegislation is made".

Ms. Annna Liberg, Trade Commissioner to India,

Business Sweden - The Swedish Trade & Invest Council, said that initiallydirect selling was not having good reputation in Sweden, but it haschanged over time. "Today, direct Selling is playing a major role inSwedish economy. You are adapting a healthy process in creating apolicy by involving all the stake holders. The potential of this industry isvery great", she said.

Mr. James Raphael, COO & Senior VP, RASCI (Retailers Associationof Skill Council of India), said, "Wherever there is life, there is consumptionand wherever there is consumption, there is retailing. The medium to reachconsumption is only incidental. Direct Selling is nothing but a medium andan integral part of the society".

Earlier, Mr. Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India, and Mr. T C Chhabra,Managing Director, RCM Business briefed on their respective company'scontribution to the nation's development. They expressed confidence thatproper guidelines would be released soon. They wanted the guidelines tobe clear and without any confusion. They thanked FDSA & FICCI for helpingthe industry at a very crucial stage. They said Direct Selling has the potentialto change the destiny of India.

Ms. Shilpa Gupta, Head, Retail & FMCG, FICCI while thankingeveryone for their cooperation said, "The policy makers are listening tous now and therefore you are getting the guidelines. The guidelines willact as a symbol of positiveness and will take us closer to getting thefinal thing".

Earlier, Mr. Rajat Banerji, Chairman, Direct Selling Task Force, FICCI,acted as the moderator for the first session - Direct Selling for the IndianEconomy.

For information on activities of FDSA (Federation of Direct SellingAssociation) and other related activities, visit: www.fdsaindia.org.