Indian traders reject FDI in multi-brand retail and emphasise the need for a policy to regulate the labour-intensive sector. TRADERS across the country responded angrily to the Union Cabinet's decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trade, disproving the arguments of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the assessment of corporate India, which had tried hard to make it appear that traders and...

-The Hindu   Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, has set off a firestorm of protest by demanding that ‘internet intermediaries' — specifically in this round, four social networking giants, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Microsoft, which enable hundreds of millions of individual users to publish and share on the worldwide web — remove inflammatory content as well as other text and images that might “offend Indian sensibilities.” As in...

-The Times of India   Given the debate that's raging over opening the retail sector to foreign direct investment, we bring you the government's view, the opposition's objections and TOI's take on the issue. Government argument * Huge investments in the retail sector will see gainful employment opportunities in agro-processing, sorting, marketing, logistics management and front-end retail. * At least 10 million jobs will be created in the next three years in the retail sector. *...

With deep pockets and international sourcing capabilities, global retail chains will outcompete domestic players, displace jobs, and undermine livelihoods. In predictable fashion, the Manmohan Singh government chose to ignore voices of opposition and implement its agenda of permitting foreign investment in the retail trade. While Parliament was in session, the Cabinet met to approve the hitherto prohibited foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, with a cap of 51 per cent on...

-The Times of India   After debating the issue for over a decade, the government on Thursday threw open the multi-brand retail segment to foreign chains such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and others in a move to attract overseas investment and dispel doubts about the coalition's ability to push through big-bang reforms.  After nearly two hours of discussion on Thursday evening, the Union Cabinet decided to allow foreign retailers to hold 51% stake in...