Delhi govt. withdraws approval for FDI in retail

The policy reversal could impact Delhi’s FDI-friendly image with the city's consumers being amongst the top spenders in the country.

January 13, 2014 06:36 pm | Updated May 13, 2016 09:25 am IST - New Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

The Arvind Kejriwal-ruled Delhi government has decided to withdraw Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multibrand retail. On Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government informed the Centre of its decision to renege on its predecessor, the Sheila Dikshit dispensation’s approval of the policy.

Monday’s policy reversal could impact Delhi’s FDI-friendly image. Delhi consumers being amongst the top spenders in the country made the State an attractive destination for FDI in retail. The State is also amongst the biggest receivers of FDI.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters that his government was not opposed to FDI but the decision had to be taken as it was part of the AAP’s manifesto.

Mr. Kejriwal said the experience in other countries did not corroborate the case made by the UPA government at the Centre in favour of retail.

“FDI in retail leads to job losses,” he said. “We agree that FDI in retail improves consumers’ choices to an extent but the AAP does not wish to increase unemployment ... Delhi is not prepared for FDI.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

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 The Hindu 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.