Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 5 (IANS) While the government looks set to put on the back burner retail sector reforms amid increased political opposition, a leading industry lobby said Monday it still hoped to see consensus on the issue.

“CII hoped to see an early consensus on the issue among the political leadership of the country. It is in the national interest and, therefore, we are hopeful that all significant political stakeholders would converge on the subject soon,” said B. Muthuraman, president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“At a time when declining investments have led to slower gross domestic product growth, the entry of foreign funds in retail as envisaged by the government would go a long way in boosting confidence,” Muthuraman said, stressing that foreign direct investment (FDI) be allowed in multi-brand retail.

According to a recent CII study, the FDI in multi-brand retail will help the organised retail sector, which positively impacts several stakeholders, including farmers, consumers, MSMEs and, hence, the overall economy.

This would result in an aggregate increase in income of $35-45 billion per year for all producers combined, 3-4 million new direct jobs and around 4-6 million new indirect jobs in the logistics sector, contract labour in the distribution and re-packaging centres, housekeeping and security staff in the stores, says the survey.

The government also stands to gain by this move and can be expected to receive an additional income of $25-30 billion by way of increased tax collection and reduction in tax slippages, it says.