Union Budget 2021: Offline retail hard hit by pandemic; seeks relief in taxation, rationalisation of licensing process All eyes are now on how Budget 2021 will address the expectations and challenges faced by the Indian retail sector. Paresh Parekh January 27, 2021 06:19:56 IST A consumer durables store. Image courtesy Metc123/Wikimedia Commons Year 2020 has witnessed huge uncertainties and challenges for nations across the globe including India. Economic activities were severely affected for a few months as India imposed several lockdowns to deal with the outburst of the pandemic. Brick and Mortar Retail, which is India’s third-largest sector, has been one of the worst-hit sectors owing to the ongoing pandemic with companies having undergone complete shutdown of their outlets, low consumer footfalls, etc. On the contrary, e-commerce channels have witnessed steady growth as they are a widely used source by consumers even during the pandemic.