-The Economic Times The entire political opposition to allowing overseas investment in retail is focused on the assumed plight of traders and small merchants in India. How about consumers, who outnumber sellers by many multiples? And what about farmers, the bulk of India's population? The idea of organised retail is to get quality stuff to buyers at reasonable prices. To do that, retailers employ technology, storage and logistics to cut overhead...

Farmers, a holy-cow constituency considered more valuable than small traders to the political class, have begun to ask uncomfortable questions to those opposing foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail. Several farmer groups, some of them led by politicians with ties to the Congress, have asked why some parties are standing in the way of a measure that is expected to reduce the clout of middlemen and increase farm earnings. Although Prime Minister...

Manmohan Singh today refused to yield to pressure on the question of allowing foreign direct investment in retail and appeared ready for a protracted battle, including the risk of a vote in Parliament despite his government’s fragile majority. Somewhat reminiscent of his nuclear deal stand, the Prime Minister confronted those who had accused the government of taking a hasty decision on retail. “We have not taken this decision in haste, but after...

The battle for India’s retail market is being fought not just in the halls of Parliament and on the front pages of newspapers but also on the little stretch of road near my home in Mumbai, where Colaba Causeway peters out into Navy Nagar. The outsize name board, “Patel General Stores”, had proudly announced itself for as long as I can remember. Recently, however, I noticed that the board had been...

-The Times of India Several Bharti-Walmart stores will remain closed on Thursday as a precautionary measure due to the bandh called by traders across the country, sources said. World's second largest retailer Carrefour, which is present in the wholesale segment in the country, also beefed up security at its stores in Delhi and Jaipur. Private security guards patrolled the Carrefour store in the crowded Shahdra area in east Delhi and vigorously checked...