Commerce Minister refutes changes in FDI sourcing norms

Commere and Industry Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there is no

proposal under consideration to modify sourcing norms for FDI in single brand retail. She said this to a question in Lok Sabha on whether there is any proposal to modify sourcing norms in respect of FDI in single brand retail.

As per the current FDI policy, approved by the earlier UPA government, 30 per cent of products sold by single brand retailers, where 100 per cent FDI is allowed, are to be sourced from small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Answering another query regarding pending proposals from multinational companies under single brand retailing, Sitharaman said that the government has received some proposals, which are under various stages of the approval process.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has set a maximum deadline of 90 days to take action on all FDI applications pending with it under single-brand retail. Industry insiders say, as many as 13 applications including that of from foreign retailers like Forever 21, Furla and Swarovski, to open single-brand company-owned stores in the country are pending with the DIPP for over a several months now. With the new timeframe set by the body, it is expected to process and forward all complete and compliant applications to the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) within 20 days for clearance. And the incomplete applications would be sent back to applicants within the same timeframe for submitting a complete and rectified application within 30 days.