India is working on improving business e-Services through online application processes and new formats.
There are many benefits to registering for the Shops and Establishments Act other than it is mandatory. People who get through the registration process find that they are in a much better position after they complete it since they receive all the benefits, including coordinating with other establishments and businesses who went through the process. The general public tends to better trust establishments that are registered when they are interested in applying for a job, and the audience would be more likely to visit and support the business.
Shop Act License are legal permissions allowing people to conduct trade or business in a particular place, whether through a physical shop or office where they work.
The primary purpose of mandatorily making people register for a Shop Act Licence through the Shops and Establishments Act was to protect the people working within the business. They were rules put in place for business owners, who could now face penalties if they were not following them. Furthermore, people who were working at any company had to make sure it went through the registration process for the Shop Act otherwise they would not be protected by it.
People, applicants, or otherwise can always complain to the authorities if they feel the establishment does not treat them fairly or it has not completed the registration process. They conduct inspections where they check the business and accordingly punish the owner or shut it down, which depends on the severity of the Act, and depending on the state of the employees.
Some additional aspects of work that are protected by the registration for the Shop Act Licence are:
- Hours of work, and intervals for rest and meals
- Prohibition of employment of children, along with the employment of young person or women
- Opening and closing hours, close days, and weekly holidays
- Wages for holidays, time and conditions of payment of wages, and deductions from wages
- Leave policy and general dismissal
- Cleanliness
- Lighting and ventilation
- Precautions against fire and other accidents
- Record keeping
Furthermore, the Shop Act Licence is a requirement when coordinating with other companies or registration processes. There are a lot of forms where they have to provide their license information. There are various schemes that companies can apply for as well, but they have to have the same information if they want to get through the process.
Another registration process that companies have to get through is the Udyog Aadhar scheme. The Government unveiled this scheme in mid-2015, and three years later they already had more than 48 lac registrations. However, the Government was using it as a means to increase the number of registrations, and they even created a process that would be a lot easier to coordinate since it was online, allowing
people to get through at their convenience. With the pandemic hitting the world as hard as it was, there were a few changes that they were struggling to get through, with companies and businesses letting go of their staff, people had a lot more time and could register their businesses or work that they were getting done in their free time anyway.
Ever since the Udyog Aadhar scheme went online, there was an increasing number of registrations showing that a more convenient process was all that it took to get more people to get through it. The new platform also had more information about various other applicant processes and was allowing their applicants to download a whole list of forms to get through the process. They could choose to upload all the information online, or they could get through it offline where they would have to download and fill out the documents, they would then have to take them to the office and submit them there. The best part about the website was that it had a lot of information about all Government processes, and they could fill applications with ease.
Some rules relating to schemes varied state-wise since they were governed by the state but the overall purpose of the registration stayed the same across the country.