New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS): The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that about 25 per cent small shops and businesses, totalling 1.75 crore, across the country are in a bad situation and on the verge of closure amid the pandemic.

In a statement, the traders' body said: "The domestic trade of India is suffering amid the worst days of the century due to Covid-19, which has brought the traders on their knees with no sign of respite in the near future."

Noting that the Indian domestic trade consists of more than 7 crore traders providing employment to more than 40 crore people, CAIT said that the banking sector has so far failed to provide formal finance to this sector since only 7 per cent of the small businesses are able to obtain finance from banks and other financial institutions.

The rest of the 93 per cent traders are dependent upon informal sources to meet their financial requirements, it said.

CAIT said that traders are under financial obligation for payment of central and state government taxes, repayment of monthly instalments of loans taken from formal and informal sources, EMIs, water and electricity bills, property tax, payment of interest, payment of wages to the labour and various other payments.

It urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate cognisance of the issue of the traders and announce a package policy for traders and help them in the revival of their business.