-The Hindu   Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday confirmed to a section of the Opposition that the Union government had decided to put on hold the move to allow foreign equity in the multi-brand Retail sector, pending further consultations. The issue has stalled Parliament since November 25. However, it is not immediately clear whether this is enough to break the deadlock. On Monday, Mr. Mukherjee called up BJP leaders L.K. Advani and...

-The Times of India   HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and Member of Parliament Ashok Ganguly have appealed to Corporate India to come out strongly in support of a besieged government, which is overwhelmed by opposition to its proposal to open up foreign investment in Retail.   The two senior business leaders are part of a group of 14 eminent citizens who came together to raise the issue of policy paralysis and later on the...

-The Telegraph   Two prominent leaders of India Inc have slammed the way Parliament has virtually been locked down by “misconceived and unfortunate” protests against foreign investment in Retail — a decision they termed “an essential part of India’s growth story”. The concerns and an appeal to farmers, consumers and common people have been flagged in an open letter by Ashok Ganguly and Deepak Parekh. Ganguly, a Rajya Sabha MP, is a former...

While the government may be finding it difficult to get its FDI in multi-brand Retail pass the test of Parliament, India Inc has been pledging huge investments in wholesale and Retail trade abroad, including in countries like the US and the UK.   In the 2010-11 fiscal, investments of Indian companies in wholesale and Retail trade overseas went up 78% as compared to the previous year - up from $1,052 million in...

-The Times of India   A delegation of farmers from north India met commerce industry and textiles minister Anand Sharma on Saturday and backed the government's move to allow 51% foreign direct investment in the multi-brand Retail sector. The farmers said the policy removes middleman and will bring better prices for the farmer's products. They said a progressive move that is expected to benefit the farm economy should be supported. "As far as FDI...