Suraksha Stores set up by govt & FMCG giants

Some of India’s biggest consumer goods companies have joined hands with the government to convert millions of neighbourhood kirana stores into sanitised retail outlets called Suraksha Stores selling daily essentials. These companies include the likes of Procter & Gamble, ITC, Dabur, Hindustan Unilever, Britannia, Nestle, Mondelez and Tata Consumer.

The government is targeting to bring 1 million stores under this category within 45 days & these Suraksha Stores will be registered on the government’s Aarogya Setu app. As of Tuesday night, according to media reports, consumer goods companies have already adopted 1 lakh outlets. The firms will aid the kirana staff implement safety norms such as social distancing and sanitisation, and also supply them sanitisers, masks and gloves.

Consumer affairs ministry secretary Pawan Agarwal stated, This voluntary effort is a welcome development. Presently, on a pilot basis, 12 companies have taken this forward and over a lakh outlets have already been registered.”