New Delhi : The government is considering to tweak FDI policy in retail sector so as to allow global chains like Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco to open multi-brand stores in non-hilly cities with population less than one million.
Besides, the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is also looking at other demands of retailers to relax mandatory investment norm in the back-end infrastructure, sourcing conditions and definition of MSMEs.
“They (foreign retailers) want to open stores in cities with population less than a million. They are saying this is important to spread network and to make their business viable. We may have to approach Cabinet on few things,” a senior official in the Commerce and Industry ministry told PTI.
In a recent meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, retailers have said that sourcing rules must be made similar to that of single brand and foreign firms be allowed to put only 50 % of first tranche of investment in back-end infrastructure. Foreign retailers are also asking to relax mandatory sourcing clause for multi-brand retail and make it similar to single brand segment.
