The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Central Government not to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) into the retail sector. Any such move would jeopardise the livelihood of four crore people involved in the sector and throw in to turmoil the lives of their 20 crore dependents.
Accompanied by former Madurai MP A.G.S. Ram Babu, a delegation led by chamber president N. Jegatheesan, senior president S. Rethinavelu, and N. Senthilnathan, joint secretary of Agro God Chamber of Commerce and Industry met the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jyotiraditya Scindia, in New Delhi recently and submitted a memorandum pressing various demands.
The memorandum recalled the recent statement made in the Rajya Sabha by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma that a decision on allowing FDI in multi brand retail trade would be taken early once the Group of Secretaries headed by Union Cabinet Secretary submitted its recommendations.
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Stating that there was widespread opposition in country to opening up the retail sector, the chamber said that small, mid-sized and chain shops would be “wiped out” as they will not have a level playing field if cash-rich multinational companies entered the sector.
The chamber alleged that giant companies would adopt a predatory policy by under-pricing their products, something the small shops cannot afford to follow suit.