Will 100% FDI in multi-brand retail be a myth or reality?

21 Jul '10

1 min read

Will Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand stores be a reality or stay a myth, is a sentence reverberating in the minds of every global retailer who wants to grab a pie of the lucrative Indian retail market.

Currently only 51 percent FDI is allowed, that too only for single brand outlets, while 100 per cent is permitted in the cash and carry (wholesale) business. The likes of Wal-Mart and Metro have set up wholesale operations in India, currently.

Although sound-bites relating to 100 percent FDI in multi-brand outlets are emanating from official government circles, they are laying the onus on the political leadership, who will take this crucially political decision.

Recently, the Commerce Minister while addressing a conference in Singapore had allayed fears by saying that job losses of those working in the mom and pop stores dotted across the lanes of the country will be minimal if 100 percent FDI is allowed.

Experts are of the opinion that rather than job losses in these stores, 100 percent FDI will create innumerable job opportunities for the educated as well as uneducated in the country. This is amply clear from the jobs created by the retail sector at present.

Fibre2fashion News Desk

More Apparel/Garments News - India...