Most developing countries have a love hate relationship to foreign investment. They love the jobs that it creates, the technology that it accompanies, the additional choices that it provides, and the local millionaires/billionaires it creates through creative phased restrictions. On the other hand, since many developing countries have a colonial heritage, and cash is concentrated amongst developed world MNCs, the host are wary of it. The more nationalistic elements within a country...

-The Times of India   Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday that opening up of the multi-brand Retail Sector to foreign investment was still on the "mind of the government" and it would be pursued once consensus emerged among political parties and other stakeholders. Mukherjee blamed lack of consensus among political parties for the government's inability to implement the reform measure but said it did not reflect the lack of intention or...

-The Telegraph   The Centre has reached an agreement with the BJP to pass a bill on pension reforms in the next “two or three” days, according to a cabinet minister. It has also been working on UPA partner Trinamul Congress, which is opposed to the bill. The BJP agreed after the government gave in on two of its demands related to the legislation, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, 2011. One was...

The central government claims that allowing foreign direct investment into India’s Retail Sector will benefit small farmers, expand employment and lower food inflation. What has been the experience in India with organised retail so far and what has been the global experience with FDI? Sukhpal Singh (sukhpal@iegindia.org) is currently at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. After being under relentless attack for a week, the United Progressiv Alliance government was forced to...

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...