Indian Government announces FDI in many industries!!

[karan21]

Man although reforms have been done, but they have to be followed with proactive decisions. Hopefully that will happen.

 

[INDIC]

r u mentioning about Austrlian uranium export deal ? then its sill pending ( http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...uranium-to-india/story-fn59nm2j-1226366170546)

if u consider NSG waiver as an advantage it ended (The Hindu : News / National : NSG ends India's 'clean' waiver )

and from the latest WaPo article on manmohan

But Singh made his mark during his first term in office, standing up to opposition from his coalition partners and from within his own party to push through a civil nuclear cooperation deal with the United States in 2008, a landmark agreement that ended India’s nuclear isolation after its weapons tests in 1974 and 1998.

It was a moment that almost brought his government down, an issue over which he offered to resign. While no electricity has yet flowed from that pact

Washington Post

so far no clear benefits

Your user name defines all so no further comments.

 

[Mitro]

here r some reasons to why i favour FDI in retail -

1. Competition is always better
n ultimate consumer will be at
benefit as they can get their
daily stuff at discounts

2.Farmers can benefit
from contract farming, lesser involment of middle man n bulk sales

3.More Cold Storage facilities will be set up thereby saving a lot of grain that is destroyed every year due lack of storage facilities

4. A lot of new employment
opportunities will be generated
for construction as well as in
operating such large stores

5. Organised retail will curtail
tax evasions done by small
retailer thereby help in nation
building n reduction in Black
money

6. It will bring a lot of new FDI
in India n International confidence in our nation

There are some drawbacks also in FDI in retail

'Hundreds of thousands of Indians who earn their livelihood from the 12 million existing retail outlets may be put out of business by Big Retail.'

Bhavdeep Kang assesses the likely impact of the government's decision to allow 51% FDI in the retail sector.

The much-awaited go-ahead for FDI in multi-brand retail has raised fears not only of unemployment -- as Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi [ Images ] observed -- but of creation of monopolies in the food sector.

The government has sought to sweeten the deal by restricting the entry of Walmart, Carrefour et al to 37 urban centres with a population of one million or more -- but this is no hardship for the multinationals, as it is unlikely that smaller centres figure in their initial rollout plan in any case.

The rationale for the decision is ostensibly to control food prices, as suggested by the Inter-Ministerial Group, IMG, on inflation. Permitting farm-to-fork retail is seen as a means of containing food inflation. India [ Images ] being apparently too resource-poor to achieve this, the retail sector had to be opened to FDI.

FDI enthusiasts say the entry of Wal-Mart and its ilk will ensure that the producer gets a better price, the consumer gets cheaper products (as the company purchases directly from the farmgate, there is no middleman) and jobs and infrastructure are created.

This rosy picture must be taken with a pinch of salt. To begin with, the FDI proposal was initiated long before food inflation became an issue, so clearly it has been pushed through because of considerations other than rising prices.

Essentially, a vertical integration of the food supply chain is proposed on the assumption that it will have a positive impact on all the stakeholders. The caveat that 50 per cent of investment must be in the rural sector is meaningless; building a supply chain from farmgate to shelf would naturally entail investment in storage and transportation infrastructure in rural areas wherever the supply bases are located.

The primary producers are expected to get better prices. But nowhere in the world have the farmers who supply goods to big retail chains benefitted. It is difficult to understand how they would benefit, when players like Wal-Mart look for the cheapest possible suppliers. To sell cheap, they buy even cheaper. To begin with, they might offer better remuneration, but that would be only until traditional channels like ahratiyas are eliminated and the farmers have no choice but to sell to Big Retail -- at any price. In his book Stuffed & Starved, Raj Patel gives a moving account of such exploitation.

The contention that FDI will create jobs is also open to question, as it is more likely to create large-scale unemployment. The unorganised retail trade in India accounts for over 40 million jobs and 98 per cent of the total trade. This includes pansaaris, kirana shops, hardware stores, convenience stores, weekly haats, paan and tobacco shops, as well as a whole range of teh-bazaari (pavement vendors). It is informal, with credit traditionally extended on trust and based on an intricate web of relationships.

The majority of consumers, who buy essentials from their neighbourhood stores on credit and pay bills on a monthly basis, will also suffer with the disruption of the traditional system.

Hundreds of thousands of people who earn their livelihood from the 12 million existing retail outlets may be put out of business by Big Retail. Some may find employment with Big Retail although this is doubtful given their lack of language skills or education -- the minimum requirement for staff at any sizeable store is a command of English. Even if they did, there would not be enough jobs to go around.

Global retail giants are highly capital intensive and create fewer jobs. A single Wal-Mart store could put tens of thousands of mom and pop stores out of business -- as it did in the US -- while generating perhaps 3,000 jobs.

Traditional retail will struggle with the likes of Wal-Mart and lose, because Big Retail with its deep pockets, would resort to predatory pricing. Nor should we expect ethical practices from multinational players.

In a highly publicised case, the Punjab [ Images ] excise and taxation department raided 'Best Price,' a joint venture between Bharti and Wal-Mart. The company was only licensed for wholesale cash-and-carry trading, in which 100 per cent FDI is allowed. According to press reports, it was found to be carrying out retail trade through the issue of membership cards to those who did not have a valid VAT number.

Drawbacks to allowing FDI in retail were pointed out by the Standing Committee of Parliament in June 2009. In the absence of a level playing field between Indian retail and the MNCs, it suggested comprehensive steps to strengthen the former before opening the gates to FDI. Otherwise, it said, the economy would suffer and widespread unemployment would lead to social unrest.

The third great myth about FDI in retail is that it will improve infrastructure by attracting investment in storage and transportation. Why Indian companies in the retail sector have not invested in the back-end along with the front-end is yet to be explained.

By allowing the entry of Big Retail, we run the risk of creating Western-style monopolies. In the US, a handful of companies control food, right from the seed to the shelf. This cannot work in our highly decentralised Indian context, characterised by a multi-tiered marketing system.

The other big fear is that FDI in multi-brand retail is just the thin end of the wedge. At the end of the day, Big Food wants to create its own captive supply base, which is more reliable than contract farming. The existing regulatory framework on agriculture does not permit corporate ownership of farmland.

 

[TopCat]

If somebody thinks that the FDI medicine will heal Indian economy then they are wrong. Reform and more reform and one day you will run out of all reform. Then what will you do?

 

[jha]

a drama to attain political martyrdom and to hide scams ....

Exactly.. This is nothing but a shrewd and disgusting step taken by Congress to divert all the attention from the Scams. Wish BJP could have handled last one and half years a little differently. But BJP is too disorganised even now to take on Congress.

 

[JAT BALWAN]

If somebody thinks that the FDI medicine will heal Indian economy then they are wrong. Reform and more reform and one day you will run out of all reform. Then what will you do?

OK genius then you tell us what to do...?

Your hatred toward India is taking a toll...

 

[harpoon]

People lost confidence on current govt. I that situation allowing FDI is not a good move. Ensuring social justice? What is it mean? In which shop can we get that?.

In every matter we should approach with vision:

In 1990 India adopted liberation that’s not an end, now FDI what next?

India allocated reservation for SC/ST at small extent before, later implemented rise in %, now demanding promotion based on reservation, what next?

Woman demanding 33% reservation now suppose if GOI granted that reservation, can anyone ensure that they won’t ask further?

British enter into India for trade as the result 200 years of slavery, now same people coming into our place with some other name. Don’t underestimate trades even there might have chances to be Trojan horse; are Indians fools? I don’t know.

I see you have lot of things mixed up ..but the ground reality is that more Indians came out of poverty in the last 20 years than in the first 40 years where we experimented with socialism and nearly bankrupted our nation. So whatever that brings prosperity to the nation, reduces poverty is welcome by me.

 

[kingkobra]

If somebody thinks that the FDI medicine will heal Indian economy then they are wrong. Reform and more reform and one day you will run out of all reform. Then what will you do?

How do you live with so much negativity in your life?

 

[cloud_9]

whats wrong in that ?

PS --- u r trying to divide people on caste ,religion and political ideologies from your post i assume u r a Congress supporter

I'm not a Congress supporter.......so relax comrade That was joke a bit on the ideological lines

 

[Abingdonboy]

If somebody thinks that the FDI medicine will heal Indian economy then they are wrong. Reform and more reform and one day you will run out of all reform. Then what will you do?

WTF are you on? Do you think reforms are wishes? Reforms create a situation where more investment can be made and hence more money made. Reforming will open up the ecomomy that will alow the Indian economy to flourish and take advantage of its economic fundamanetlas that will allow it, along with China, to displace the US as the largest economy in the world within most of our lifetimes-~2045-50.

I don't think you truly know what a reform is or much about economics at all IMHO.

 

[Marxist]

So you think 'Emerging Kerala' was wrong as it was solely aimed to attract foreign investors.

Congress sold Sky(2G scam) ,underground (pataal) coal scam ,now to sell earth they started emerging kerala ...

 

[Archie]

Mamta Bit.CH Banergi is going to thow a big tantrum and we are likely to see her exit and possibly Mulayam's entry

 

[DARIUS]

This is the news I have been waiting for the past few moth's!!But I heard that Mamta is opposing despite that would this go through??Someone pls clarify. . . .or is it that the Congress is least bothered about a possible support withdrawal by the TMC and going its own way??Cause since the PM have made the statement already I do not think there is any chance of rollback. . .!!

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

If somebody thinks that the FDI medicine will heal Indian economy then they are wrong. Reform and more reform and one day you will run out of all reform. Then what will you do?

We will Kick all illegal Bangladeshi pole vaulter out of India.

No matter how many reforms we will make, this reform will be done at the last and will going to be the Most Effective one

 

[DARIUS]

Just now I heard Mukul Gandu Roy threatening that since the TMC was not taken into confidence in any of this decision making they are going to protest and all that BS meetings etc.!!

We need to increase our manufacturing base and unlike what China needs we need to shift focus on growth from internal demand to export oriented one!!Cause internal demand is always going to be there!!And lesser scams obviously is something that we immediately need!!