FDI in retail and aviation will neither hurt people more nor benefit companies much, former Union minister Arun Shourie on Saturday said.

“There will be neither more profit nor much loss with the FDI in retail and in aviation. It is not of much use to either side (businessmen and consumers),” he said on the sidelines of a global conference here.

He said five or six years back, major companies like Reliance, Air Tel and Big Bazaar had come in retail but it did not affect small retailers.

“In fact, at present, these big players like Future group and Reliance are in difficulty not the small retailers. Big MNCs are not going to come here in a large number as they know it is not easy for them to establish here in India.

“The FDI in aviation will help three to four companies at the most. The process of consolidation which is in telecom sector, the same will be in aviation. At the most, it may be little faster in aviation,” the former telecommunications minister said.

He also supported the Rs 5 hike in diesel prices.

“I support the hike in prices of diesel. There are five - six reasons. First, our deficit is unmanageable. If you see the last budget, the division for petroleum products subsidy was Rs 43,580 crore while the level of subsidy is about Rs 1.70 lakh crore. Can a country sustain on this,” he asked.

To a question whether the UPA government was in trouble, he said, “I do not want to get into all this. There was no government in the country for the last four- five years. They have started doing something; let us see what they do.”

When asked about the authority of the Prime Minister, he said, “Prime Minister in India has complete authority. But the Prime Minister is not using his authority. That is why his authority has been reduced.”

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