FDI in Indian Retail will Threaten Livelihood of 40 Million Indians

May 20, 2009	(Be the first to rate this story!)  Loading ...
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Opening India’s retail sector to giant European corporations would threaten the livelihoods of 40 million Indians. The article ‘EU and India prepare for post-election free-trade talks’ (11 May, EuropeanVoice.com), appears to favour the opening up of sensitive sectors, including retail, to foreign direct investment. This bias even led to predicting the election results well before the last vote had been cast and announcing the pro-liberalisation agenda of the next government. India is a land of retail democracy. Its streets are markets – lively, vibrant, safe and the source of livelihood for millions. In a country with a large number of people and high levels of poverty, the existing model of retail democracy is the most appropriate in terms of economic viability and ecological sustainability.

Opening India’s retail sector to giant European corporations such as Tesco and Carrefour would be a direct threat to 40 million people whose livelihood depends on the retail trade. The majority of India’s population – including shopkeepers, vendors, farmers, manufacturers, workers and consumers – would be losers if the retail sector were opened up to foreign direct investment. In Europe, these corporations have become agents of destruction – of employment, of communities and of the environment. The same should not be allowed to happen in India. Across the world there are movements to create local farmers’ markets and street markets to resist the monopolies of supermarkets. India has the diversity and the decentralisation that the people of Europe are seeking. It is the model for the future markets of the world, but the article seems to favour a model that is increasingly being rejected by the people of Europe themselves.

News Published Under:   Retail Market in India |

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