THE INDIAN government on Thursday (September 20) put its retail reforms into effect by formally putting them down on paper despite nationwide strike action, a report said.
The government’s “notification” of its decision to allow global retail giants into the country’s vast retail sector indicates it will not roll back on the reforms.
The next stage will be negotiating deals with individual supermarket chains.
The reforms, which will allow in foreign supermarkets such as Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour, are aimed at reviving India’s slowing economy but they have sparked a furious backlash from opposition parties and trade unions.
“Fifty-one per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retailing, in all products, will be permitted,” the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said.
The government issued the notification on the day when shopkeepers, traders and labourers took part in a nationwide day of protest, blocking railway lines and closing markets across the country.
