Foreign direct investment in India with special focus on retail trade

Abstract

It is to be noted that there is prevalent widespread opposition, specially by the left parties towards FDI in retail trade in India. May be in the early 1990s employing safeguards to protect domestic retailers was the need of the day. Almost more than one and a half decades down the line there is a need for Foreign Direct Investment in retail trade. It is a flawed argument that the Wal‐Marts’, Tescos’ and Asdas’ will lead to the winding up of the small scale domestic retailers. Instead it is going to provide a stiff competition to the Pantaloons’ and the Westsides’. This paper starts by stressing the need of FDI in India. It uses the argument that FDI is allowed in multiple sectors and the effects have been quite good without harming the domestic economy tries to stress on the fact that FDI in retail sector must be allowed.