Indian Minister of Commerce Anand Sharma said the Cabinet’s decision to allow foreign retailers, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, to open outlets in the country would create up to 10 million jobs and give farmers better prices.
The first major change to Indian foreign ownership rules in five years announced on Thursday is opposed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two largest parliamentary allies and the main federal opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Lawmakers protesting the move forced the adjournment of parliament yesterday, the fourth day in a row that debates have been suspended in the house.
“The step which we have taken is an investment in the present and the future of this country,” Sharma told reporters at a press conference yesterday. “It will be a fillip to job creation in the manufacturing sector and it will have a multiplier effect on the economy.”
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Under the new policy, overseas companies will be allowed to own as much as 51 percent of retailers selling more than one brand. The government also approved plans that allow companies that sell a single brand, such as Nike Inc, to own 100 percent of their operations, removing a cap previously set at 51 percent.
Conditions for foreign retailers opening stores include having to invest a minimum of US$100 million. At least 50 percent of that money must be spent on back-end infrastructure and 30 percent of produce must be bought from small industries.
The decision to lift the caps has been criticized by the government’s leading allies, the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, who argue the move will lead to job losses and hurt small shopkeepers. The BJP cites the same reasons for its opposition.
“We are potentially looking at more levels of gridlock and antagonism” in parliament, said Sanjay Kumar, a New Delhi-based analyst at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.
“At the moment, opposition political parties are looking for an excuse to put the government on the back foot,” Kumar said.
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