Retailers seek easing of multi-brand FDI norms

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma on Thursday met organised retailers who had called on the minister to seek changes in the sourcing and investment norms under the FDI policy in multibrand retail.

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma on Thursday met organised retailers who had called on the minister to seek changes in the sourcing and investment norms under the FDI policy in multibrand retail.

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The retailers’ delegation included executives from firms such as Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco and Bharti Enterprises.

“The clause for 30% sourcing from a small and medium enterprise (SME) should be made preferable rather than compulsory. This is simply because in many categories products cannot be bought from an SME. For instance, no SME would manufacture TV,” said Rajan Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises.

Bijou Kurien, chairman, FICCI’s Retail Committee, said clarifications need to come over as to whether the 50% mandatory investment in back-end infrastructure is of the cumulative investment or merely from the first tranche of investment.

Through the government announced detailed notifications about FDI in September last year no major investments or expansion plans have taken place.

US-based Walmart, which has been hit by government investigations, has withheld its expansion plans. On Wednesday, its India president Raj Jain left the company. His replacement, Ramnik Narsey, refused to speak to reporters at the meeting.