In a letter to Prime Minister Narender Modi, dated May 20, the All India Mobile Retailers’ Association (AIMRA) has urged him to extend relief measures such as interest free moratorium for six months, collateral free loans between Rs 25 lacs to Rs 1 crore with minimum interest and covid insurance worth Rs 50 lakhs at minimum premium.

AIMRA has also sought a stimulus package for retailers to meet their standing expenses and ensure priority vaccination of retailers as frontline workers.
Retailers say the mobile phone business is being pushed to the edge of bankruptcy due to outstanding expenses like rentals, electricity bills, bank interest and taxes etc due to absence of rotation in the money cycle.
Besides, the uninterrupted delivery of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies has created a non level-playing field driving away sales from the offline channel.
The body, representing close to 1.5 lakh independent mobile phone retailers across the country, has reiterated its stance of not treating mobile phones as essentials as opposed to the demand of phone brands and e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.