8 States to monitor direct selling activities

New Delhi: Eight states have constituted committees so far to monitor direct selling as efforts continue to boost the regulatory framework to weed out entities floating fraudulent schemes and protect the interest of direct sellers and their companies.It will help protect the direct selling industry in the respective states and provide policy clarity for the industry, said Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) Chairman Rajat Banerji. The Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules as notified by the central government in December 2021, have a provision to set up a monitoring committee by state governments to supervise the activities of direct sellers and direct selling companies. The country's direct selling industry, estimated to be worth Rs 19,000 crore, has been facing headwinds amid instances of entities floating schemes to defraud people in the guise of direct selling activities. Governments from Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, West Bengal, Goa and Punjab have finalised and notified monitoring committees in their respective states.