India Inc supports FDI in multi-brand retail, education and e-commerce

In a pre-Budget meeting with the commerce and industry ministry, India Inc requested the government to further ease Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in certain sectors such as multi-brand retail, education and e-commerce. Even insurance, the industry czars, said should be liberalised.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) suggested that 100 per cent FDI could be allowed in non-food segment such as electronics and apparel. This, they felt, would protect the kirana store owners. Only fresh food product retail could have 100 per cent FDI, they suggested. Also, FICCI wanted to know clearly about FDI norms in e-commerce. It suggested that FDI should be allowed in B2C e-commerce in a phased manner. A requirement should be made to source significantly from India for ‘Make in India’. For education, too, FICCI suggested that 100 per cent FDI should be allowed in all aspects of education including construction of student hostels, faculty housing, sports facilities, auditoriums and other related facilities.

Other issues such as free trade agreements (FTAs), ways to promote start-ups and boost economic growth were also discussed in the meeting with the industry and commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman. India Inc was concerned about the impact of FTAs on Indian commerce and industry. Till now, India has signed free trade pacts with Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Asean. The government was advised to focus on Special Economic Zones to boost exports. For start-ups, it was suggested that any business within the first three years of its existence, employing 50 people or less and having a revenue of Rs 5 crore or less should be defined as a start-up.

The objective of the meeting was to understand the problems faced by the Indian economy in manufacturing and seek suggestion to boost that.