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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | FDI in retail will touch only 13.3% of population, Centre tells SC -Dhananjay Mahapatra

FDI in retail will touch only 13.3% of population, Centre tells SC -Dhananjay Mahapatra

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published Published on Feb 23, 2013   modified Modified on Feb 23, 2013
-The Times of India

The Union government downplayed the opposition's concern over allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and informed the Supreme Court on Friday that the policy, when fully implemented, would touch the lives of only 13.3% of the country's population living in 53 cities.

The government said its policy on FDI in multi-brand retail stipulated that retail sales outlets could be set up only in cities with a population of over 1 million.

"Even if the policy is fully implemented throughout the country, there are only 53 urban agglomerates/cities with million plus population. These 53 comprise only 0.67% of the total number of cities and have a total population of 160.7 million, as compared to the total population of India of 1210 million, which is only 13.3%," it said.

The Centre said organized retail trading by big Indian corporations was in vogue for a decade and had not harmed small traders.

"Multi-brand retail trading is also a form of organized retail, the only difference by the policy to allow FDI in retail as prescribed is that the capital investment is by foreign corporates/entities. The fact that the capital invested is foreign would not materially alter the equation between small retailers and large outlets," it said.

It gave the examples of China, Brazil, Argentina, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand where FDI was permitted up to 100% and still local retailers co-existed with organized retail. "In Indonesia, even after several years of emergence of supermarkets, 99% of fresh food retail and 70% of all food retail continues to be controlled by traditional retailers," the Centre said.

The government said it was in the process of constituting a high level group under the ministry of consumer affairs to look into various aspects of internal trade and recommend reforms to ensure "distributional efficiencies and also that benefits from trade are available to all sections of society."

The affidavit was filed after additional solicitor general Siddharth Luthra got permission from a bench headed by Justice R M Lodha. The Centre was responding to the court's query on what steps were taken to protect traditional retail traders made during hearing of a PIL by advocate M L Sharma, who has challenged the policy decision and the manner of its implementation.

The Centre said the policy allowing up to 51% FDI in multi-brand retail was an enabling one and states and Union Territories were free to take their "own decisions in regard to implementation of the policy in keeping with local conditions".

Jammu and Kashmir, along with the Congress-ruled states of Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Manipur, have agreed to allow FDI in multi-brand retail.

On January 23, the Supreme Court had asked the government whether the country had received any FDI in multi-brand retail two months after Parliament approved the decision and wanted to know the safeguards put in place to protect small traders. It had also said the validity of the policy would be tested on the constitutional touchstone.

"It is now 6-7 weeks since Parliament approved the decision. Now, the policy is in place. What has happened since then? Have you received some investment or was it just a political gimmick," the court had asked.

The Centre said organized retail, through Indian entities like Big Bazaar, Shoppers Stop, Reliance Fresh, More, Spencers and Croma was already in operation and it had not harmed any small trader.

"The experience of the previous decade has shown that small retailers have flourished in harmony with large retail outlets. At present, organized retail constitutes only about 4% of retail trade (2010 industry estimates) and co-exist with the small 'kirana' stores and the unorganized retail sector," said the affidavit filed by department of industrial policy & promotion in the ministry of commerce and industry.


The Times of India, 23 February, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/FDI-in-retail-will-touch-only-13-3-of-population-Centre-tells-SC/articleshow/18638049.cms


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