Govt plans 20 lakh necessity shops ahead of possible Covid-19 lockdown extension: Suraksha Stores

NEW DELHI : Ahead of extending restrictions on the mobility of goods and persons, the government plans to set up a chain of 20 lakh retail shops called 'Suraksha Stores' across India which will provide daily essentials to citizens while maintaining stringent safety norms.

The Suraksha Stores initiative will convert the neighbourhood kirana stores into sanitised retail outlets selling daily essentials while adhering to safety norms such as social distancing and sanitisation to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, sources with direct knowledge of the development said.

The government will rope in private firms to implement this plan, which seeks to ensure that proper protocol is followed in the entire supply chain, right from manufacturing units to retail outlets, to combat COVID-19.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Kumar Agarwal has held at least one round of discussions with the top FMCG companies to implement this ambitious plan through public private partnership, the sources said. 

The government is targeting to earmark 20 lakh retail outlets as 'Suraksha Stores' over the next 45 days. Each FMCG company might be given one or two states to execute this plan in an effective manner and enable every store to fight coronavirus. 

When contacted, Agarwal said the government is "working" on the 'Suraksha Store' plan but declined to share any detail.

To become a 'Suraksha Store', a retail store will have to comply with a health and safety checklist, which includes social distancing of 1.5 metres outside the shop as well as billing counters, use of sanitiser or handwash by consumers before entering shops, provision of masks to all staff and sanitisation of high touch areas twice a day. 

The 'Suraksha Store' will not



only be for groceries but also consumer durables, apparel and salons. 

A top official at a leading FMCG firm confirmed the development. 

"The Government is intending to make Suraksha Store and Suraksha Circle to guarantee cleanliness and wellbeing standards over the production network. In excess of 50 top FMCG organizations have been drawn nearer. We are with the administration and we have just given our endorsement to effectively take an interest right now," the official, who wished not to be distinguished. 

FMCG organizations will be approached to give preparing and assemble wellbeing packs (covers, gloves and sanitisers) to empower retail outlets to become 'Suraksha Stores', the authority stated, including that huge enterprises would comparatively support wholesalers and other littler units. 

According to the arrangement, each retail outlet should noticeably show that it is a 'Suraksha Store' to clients. Instructive banners identified with cleanliness and security ought to likewise be shown in the store.

Similarly, the Consumer Affairs Ministry is working on creating 'Suraksha Circle' where lead manufacturing plants will help their business partners and smaller factories in their vicinity in order to ensure a safe environment across the product supply chain. 

Each lead manufacturing plant is expected to adopt 10 SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and one village in order to achieve the target to bring 50,000 SMEs and 5,000 communities under Suraksha Circle. 

According to the plan, an online training certification programme will be created for Suraksha Stores and Suraksha Circle to ensure awareness about COVID-19 protocols for the supply of essential commodities as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).