New Delhi, July 29 -- The Union government is likely to put the proposed National Retail Trade Policy on the back burner, a move seen as a conciliatory gesture towards Washington as negotiations for the India-US bilateral trade agreement enter the final stretch.

The retail policy, which was first proposed in 2019, was meant to address structural challenges faced by brick-and-mortar traders and small businesses due to rising digitisation and platform-driven commerce.

Shelving the policy may indirectly benefit major US-based retail giants-particularly e-commerce platforms and global retail chains like Walmart Inc.-by allowing them to continue operating in India without additional regulatory oversight.

Domestic retail chains such as DMart...