FDI in Retail A Much Awaited Decision!
Ar Apurva Bose Dutta
FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) assumes a space of immense significance in a country’s development and assists in establishing an open and effective international economic system. It is done as direct investment into production in a country by a company located in another country, either by buying a company in the targeted country or by expanding operations of an existing business in that country. The Indian retail industry, though with huge growth potential (studies validating a contribution of 14% to the national GDP and employment of 7% of the total workforce) is estimated to be one of the five retail markets in the world by economic value but unfortunately it remains one of the least evolved industries in India as compared to the rest of the world. Retail is the largest source of employment in India after agriculture. According to Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), an apex body of the flexi staffing industry in India, FDI in retail can create around 4 million direct jobs and almost 5 to 6 million indirect jobs including contractual employment within a span of 10 years.
