New Delhi: Amid indications that the government could go ahead with FDI in multi-brand retail after presidential polls, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma will meet Punjab and Haryana chief ministers today to pursue the matter after Uttarakhand favoured the move.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to implement the decision to allow foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector.
Reuters
Following strong opposition from its key allies like Trinamool Congress (TMC), the UPA government had put on hold the decision to allow 51 percent foreign direct investment
(FDI) in multi-brand retail segment.
“This decision holds significance in unlocking the true potential of our agrarian economy as in absence of adequate logistics and infrastructure, a larger part of farm produce never reaches the market, Bahuguna said.
He said FDI in the sector will give impetus to the state economy. The UPA government has renewed efforts for a consensus on on the politically-sensitive issue of FDI in retail, estimated
to be a about $550 billion market.
“Farmers are at the mercy of middlemen and on the one hand, they do not get the true price for their produce, on the other hand, consumers ends up paying many times more than the
price secured by the farmers,” he added.
An official statement said that Sharma will discuss issues related with FDI in multi-brand retail and Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project with the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana today.
Sharma will arrive in Chandigarh today and will have the meeting with Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal and later in the day he will meet the Haryana Chief Minister
Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
PTI
