The Indian Government has taken a hesitant but sure step to open the much-debated and controversial retail sector to foreign players.

For an industry that has existed and flourished without support from and even despite the Indian Government, the time has come for change. For the uninitiated, India currently allows 51% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in single-brand retail and 100% FDI in cash-and-carry or wholesale trading. It has not yet allowed foreign companies to run multi-brand stores in India, despite frantic lobbying and debates on the issue. It is only recently that the government has taken a hesitant but sure step to open the much-debated and controversial retail sector to foreign players, a sector that provides employment to 34 million Indians.

And the discussion paper on the issue prepared by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has made FDI in retail the toast of the season for the Indian media and the policy speculators of the government.

The Analyst Magazine, Foreign Direct Investments, FDI, Indian Government, Controversial Retail Sector, Foreign Companies, Domestic Procurement, Retail Management, Contract Farming, Supply Chain Investments, Organized Retail Stores, Indian Business Chambers.