GOVT WILL CONSIDER REPEALING 51% FDI POLICY FOR RETAIL

Government will consider repealing the 51 per cent FDI policy in multi-brand retail, while no proposal would be entertained for opening supermarkets in India by foreign players, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The statement comes amid a fresh controversy after the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in its consolidated FDI policy retained the previous UPA government’s decision to allow foreign retailers to open multi-brand stores with 51 per cent ownership.
She also said “we will ensure FDI in e-commerce doest not become a back door for FDI into multi-brand retail”.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had recently said the BJP was “never” in favour of allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail and a recent government notification only published the extant policy on it.
Only one investment proposal of the UK-based Tesco has been cleared since 51 per cent FDI was allowed in 2012.

The ruling BJP in its election manifesto had said: “Barring the multi-brand retail sector, FDI will be allowed in sectors wherever needed for job and asset creation, infrastructure and acquisition of niche technology and specialised expertise.”