Cautioning that the entry of foreign retail giants could create joblessness, a Parliamentary panel has asked the Government to set up a ‘Retail Regulatory Authority’ to deal with issues concerning foreign multi-brand retail companies in the country.
“We have recommended a regulatory authority to look into the problem (impact of FDI in multi-brand retail on MSMEs),” Tiruchi Siva, DMK leader and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry, told reporters here today.
According to Siva, if multi-brand retail chains are not regulated well, it will impact the medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs), farmers and domestic mandis.
“Once...mandis are eliminated, the big foreign retail giants will manipulate prices and our farmers will be forced to sell their products at low prices dictated by them (foreign retailers), the panel said in a report.
“Our own squeezed out retailers and all those associated with the market and retail trade would lose their livelihood and become jobless. It will add to our already existing social and economic woes, which generate so much unrest and violence.”
Siva was of the view that multi-brand chains should be regulated so that customers are not fleeced and farmers are not under-paid for their produce.
Taking serious note of the implementation of sourcing norms, the committee suggested that the 30 per cent procurement requirement should be applicable item-wise.
While allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retailing, the government made it mandatory for at least 30 per cent of the value of manufactured or processed products to be sourced from small industries.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.