On Thursday(8th Feb) night, there was an interesting debate in CNBC’s ‘India Tonight’ show on the topic “FDI In Retail: Is this in India’s Best Interest?” Well-known Economist- Mr. Sujith Ballal, the Chairman of the Maharastra Foreign Trade Committee- Mr. Shanghvi and member of the NCP- Mr. Abhishek Singhvi tried to battle their wits out. Some of the issues discussed were:
“Would Wal-Mart’s entry into India throw life out of gear for the middle-class retailers?”
“Are there any safeguards that the Government has to protect the interests of the domestic retailers?”
And finally, “Would the common man benefit from the entry of retail giants such as Wal-Mart into India?”
I have been studying the Retail sector in some detail since a few months as part of a project work and find it quite intriguing. When I heard about Reliance’s bombastic plans to tackle giants like Wal-Mart, I was totally zapped! Whether Reliance will be a mega hit or a pauper is yet to be seen. As a developing and much-talked about economy, I think we need to grow up and accept the challenge of being pushed to compete in the global arena rather than introducing all sorts of caps on FDI and shy away from competition.
One point made by Mr. Ballal yesterday was a clincher – If prices of commodities get cheaper due to the entry of the Retail giants, then it’s the common man who would benefit from this.
I totally agree with Mr. Ballal. We cannot afford to stop the nation’s growth and hide in our backyards. Well, what if the US tomorrow says ‘No more Indians for IT in the country?’ What’s your take on this?
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