Govt starts afresh to reach consensus on FDI

The government has once again begun consulting with the states

over allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail. Last time around, when the government announced its decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, political parties in the Opposition and its own ally, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, demanded a complete roll-back fearing huge job losses and closure of small retail players in the country. The decision was then put on hold till the time it reached a political consensus.

Now, the Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who had piloted the Cabinet proposal, will meet industry ministers of the southern states in Kerala by February-end to discuss and review the proposal. The ministry plans to organize such meetings with state-level ministers in the other three zones as well — Chandigarh in north, Mumbai in west and Bhubaneshwar in east.

According to the feedback collected by the department of consumer affairs recently, eight states ruled by Congress and its allies — West Bengal, Kerala, Delhi, Assam, Goa and the smaller Northeastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur — have agreed to a complete ban on organized retail trade in fruits, vegetables and grocery. Of the total 22 states that had sent their feedback, 14 states supported the committee’s recommendations. Rajasthan was the only Congress-ruled state that advised against a complete ban. Three NDA-ruled states Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab said organized retail was important for growth development.