Government of India to allow FDI in retail

Union Cabinet - today - approved 51% FDI in multi-brand retail sector.

Way back in 2008, the government had put a hold on FDI in multi-brand retail, after there were wide spread protests against the large scale organized players entering the retail sector. The retail sector in India is currently dominated by the many small shops that can be seen in every neighborhood.

Way back in the 70s and 80s, the government under the stewardship of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had given a lot of emphasis to self-employment and encouraged the Indian masses to setup their own enterprises. As a result, a large number of small shops that are now referred to as the mom-n-pop stores came up.

The advent of the large-scale players in the form of organized retail made these small entrepreneurs insecure, leading to large scale protests against them.

But now, the government has cleared the way for setting up large scale multi-brand retail outlets by allowing 51% FDI.

Let us see what happens, now.