New Delhi, 9th August 2026: A grand National Traders’ Conference and Bhamashah Felicitation Ceremony was organised at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, to mark the 45th Foundation Day of the Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal (BUVM). The programme was presided over by the organisation’s National President, Shri Babulal Gupta (Rajasthan), and was effectively conducted by National Senior General Secretary Shri Mukund Mishra (Uttar Pradesh).

Around 1,000 trader representatives from 24 states and two Union Territories participated in the conference, demonstrating the unity, organisational strength and national coordination of the trading community.

Union Minister for Law and Justice Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal was the Chief Guest at the event. He said that promoting trade and business is essential to achieving the goal of a developed India. He emphasised that accelerating trade and commerce is necessary to expand the size of the country’s economy. He assured the traders that the government would take necessary steps to address their concerns on issues related to GST, online trade and other matters concerning the business community.

Durg Lok Sabha MP Shri Vijay Baghel, Rajya Sabha MP Smt. Sadhna Singh, former MP and Senior Vice President of the Uttar Pradesh Udyog Vyapar Mandal Shri Bhairav Prasad Mishra, along with several other public representatives and senior trade leaders, were present at the event.

Among the national and state office-bearers and representatives present were Shri Mohan Gurnani and Shri Kishor Bhai Kharawala from Maharashtra; Shri Taraknath Trivedi from West Bengal; Shri Rajpurohit and Shri Anurag Singla from Karnataka; Shri Prakash Mishra from Uttarakhand; Shri Hemant Gupta, Shri Prem Arora and Shri Rakesh Yadav from Delhi; Shri Sujit Roy from Tripura; Shri Prahlad Khandelwal from Odisha; Shri Ashok Modi from Chhattisgarh; Shri Gopal Agarwal and Shri Rajesh Jain from Madhya Pradesh; Shri Raju Apsara from Kerala; Shri Soundarya Rajan from Tamil Nadu; Shri Vijaylaxmi Gupta and Shri Bhanu Ji from Haryana; Shri Ranjan Agarwal and Shri Pyarelal Seth from Punjab; Shri Charanjit Singh and Shri Sanjeev from Chandigarh; and Shri Rajendra Prasad Gupta, Shri Dilip Seth, Shri Sunil Pandey and Shri Ashok Kansal from Uttar Pradesh, among several other senior office-bearers and trader representatives.

The conference called for increasing the target from 500 to 1,000 districts to promote local products, local trade and local tourism and advance the vision of ‘Local for Global’. National President Shri Babulal Gupta said that promoting local production, trade and tourism would strengthen employment and economic activity in districts and help connect traditional skills and crafts from villages with global markets.

The conference also discussed several key issues, including the need for a clear and effective regulatory framework for online trade, protection of small and traditional traders, addressing the unequal competition arising from e-commerce and mall culture, strengthening MSMEs, promoting the concept of “Investment in the District, for the District”, and establishing trader assistance groups in every district.

Several other major demands concerning the trading community were also discussed, including One Nation–One Mandi Tax, limiting mandi cess to 0.50 per cent, an amnesty scheme for the resolution of GST and old VAT cases, relief from GST on rented shops and houses, reduction in interest on delayed GST payments, and simplification of FSSAI regulations. It was decided that detailed proposals on these issues would be submitted to the Central Government.

Speakers recalled that late Shri Shyam Bihari Mishra, the founder of the Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, who was a four-time Member of Parliament and a prominent leader of the traders’ movement, had initiated the movement for trader unity and protection of traders’ interests nearly 45 years ago. They said that the movement has today evolved into a strong national organisation. All state, district and city-level units of the organisation continue to work towards protecting and strengthening the interests of the trading community in line with the same vision.

National President Shri Babulal Gupta congratulated the various state units of the organisation for successfully conducting traders’ conferences and training programmes across the country. He said that the Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal has emerged as a strong national voice for the trading community from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

The National President congratulated and extended his best wishes to the entire Delhi Pradesh team of the Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal for successfully organising the event. He also expressed special gratitude to the Federation of All India Food Grain Dealers Association for its important support as a partner organisation in the event.

At the conclusion of the programme, National President Shri Babulal Gupta announced that a “Local to Global National Trade Conference” would be organised at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, in January 2027. The conference will aim to provide fresh impetus at the national level to youth entrepreneurship, local trade, local production, local tourism and the “One City–One Product” initiative.

Addressing the session Sh. Arvind Shrivastava, IAS, Revenue Secretary, Ministry of Finance, said the Union Budget 2026–27 marks a structural redesign of India’s tax administration framework, aimed at empowering taxpayers while reducing procedural friction and discretionary intervention. He highlighted reforms such as extended timelines for revised and updated returns, the ability to update returns even during reassessment proceedings, combined issuance of assessment and penalty orders, and settlement mechanisms to reduce disputes. He also outlined the transition from transaction-based scrutiny to trust-based, entity-level compliance supported by digital systems, audits and risk-based monitoring for importers, exporters, authorised economic operators and customs warehouses.

The macroeconomic context of the Budget was outlined by Dr. V. Anantha Nageshwaran, Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India, said the Budget continues the accelerated reform momentum underway since early 2025 and reflects strong alignment with the Economic Survey. He highlighted the emphasis on urbanisation with cities as economic systems, sustained support for MSMEs through credit guarantees, payment discipline and dedicated manufacturing funds, and targeted policy backing for manufacturing in a geopolitically fragmented world. He also pointed to continued fiscal consolidation, record infrastructure investment of ₹12.2 lakh crore and improving sovereign credit metrics that together support stable, non-inflationary growth.

Speaking on growth and industry impact, Sh. Anil Gupta, Senior Vice President, PHDCCI, said the Budget has been presented at a pivotal moment for the Indian economy and reinforces the Government’s commitment to fiscal prudence, growth acceleration and the vision of Viksit Bharat. He highlighted the strong focus on capital expenditure, infrastructure and manufacturing, including measures such as the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, revival of legacy industrial clusters and the Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, alongside the positive impact of recent trade agreements on industry and employment.

Sharing industry feedback on direct taxes, Sh. Mukul Bagla, Chair, Direct Taxes Committee, PHDCCI, said the Budget reflects constructive stakeholder engagement, with several industry recommendations incorporated. He highlighted measures such as reduction in TCS rates, extended timelines for revised and updated returns, taxation of buyback proceeds as capital gains, exemption for compulsory acquisition of land, rationalisation of penalties and a lower stay-of-demand requirement, all of which enhance certainty and reduce litigation. He also flagged concerns around high effective personal tax rates, delays in faceless appeals and challenges in rectifying legacy demands, calling for further administrative improvements.

Sh. Ashok Batra, Chair, Indirect Taxes Committee, PHDCCI, said the indirect tax proposals address several long-pending industry concerns despite a limited number of amendments. He highlighted the redefinition of intermediary services to allow export benefits, faster provisional refunds in inverted duty cases, and rationalisation of post-sale discount provisions as measures that will significantly reduce GST litigation. He also welcomed customs duty rationalisation, extended validity of advance rulings, simplified warehousing procedures and relief measures for exporters, while underscoring the need for early resolution of legacy GST disputes.

Sh. Gurmeet Chadha, Chair, BFSI Committee, PHDCCI, said the Budget underscores the quality of government borrowing, with net borrowing broadly aligned with capital expenditure, signalling a clear focus on infrastructure-led growth rather than revenue spending. He noted that India’s macroeconomic position remains structurally strong with high growth and low inflation, and welcomed the momentum in trade negotiations as a positive signal for long-term investors and capital markets.

Ms. Pallavi Dinodia, Co-Chair, Direct Taxes Committee, PHDCCI, said Budget 2026 represents a decisive shift towards a simplified and trust-based tax regime. She welcomed the implementation of the new Income Tax Act from 1 April 2026, streamlined return-filing timelines, the one-time foreign asset disclosure amnesty, rationalisation of TCS on foreign remittances and alignment of ICDS with Ind AS. She emphasised that timely notification of rules and faster disposal of pending appeals will be critical to deliver the intended ease of compliance.

Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, CEO & Secretary General, PHDCCI, said the Union Budget 2026–27 reflects months of rigorous institutional effort, extensive data analysis and continuous stakeholder consultation. He placed on record PHDCCI’s appreciation for the team led by Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and emphasised that effective on-ground implementation through close government–industry partnership will be critical to translating policy intent into tangible outcomes.

On the occasion, PHDCCI released its analytical publication on Union Budget 2026–27, outlining the Budget’s fiscal stance, capital expenditure strategy, infrastructure and manufacturing priorities, employment initiatives and the evolving framework for federal finances, while the discussions underscored that effective implementation and sustained government–industry collaboration will be crucial to translating these policy measures into tangible economic outcomes.