The Maharashtra government on Thursday extended the lockdown-like restrictions in the state till June 1 to break the chain of COVID-19.
'Walmart will source globally and more from China and will dump these cheap goods in India, making our country a dumping yard.'
Economists at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) here expect that the share of organised retail in India will not exceed 30 per cent of the total retail trade in the country even after allowing 51 per cent foreign direct investment in (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
Sectors which attracted maximum foreign inflows during April-June 2019-20 include services (USD 2.8 billion), computer software and hardware (USD 2.24 billion), telecommunications (USD 4.22 billion), and trading (USD 1.13 billion), the commerce and industry ministry data showed.
The Palaniswami government is expected to utilise the Rangarajan Committee's recommendations before the 2021 assembly election.
Palo Alto-based electric carmaker Tesla has initiated talks with the government on the modalities of setting up fully-owned retail outlets. The company needs to comply with the foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines related to single-brand retail, including local sourcing norms, to sell directly in India. At least two other foreign majors - Apple and Ikea - were engaged in talks with the government long before the sourcing norms were eased under the single-brand retail route.
A series of steps taken by the government to promote ease of doing business and liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms have helped India receive record FDI inflows so far this year, and implementation of measures like PM Gati Shakti, single window clearance and GIS-mapped land bank are expected to further push investments in 2022. Notwithstanding the global slowdown and the COVID-19 pandemic, total foreign direct investments into India rose to a record $81.72 billion in 2020-21. During April-July this fiscal, FDI (foreign direct investment) into the country increased by 62 per cent to $27.37 billion.
In stock market parlance, "meme stock" was certainly the word of the year. Coined to mean those stocks that gain sudden popularity on the internet with resultant high prices, it was used to derisively describe the behaviour of retail traders globally who entered the market in huge numbers in the two Covid-19 years. A recent study, "Market Concentration and Retail Participation in India", by the National Stock Exchange economics team led by their chief economist Tirthankar Patnaik shows unlike these impressions, the retail investors, at least in India, have not performed inconsistently.
Singapore continued to be the largest source of FDI in India followed by Mauritius, the US, the Netherlands and Japan.
Conformity assessment procedures will be put in place to verify that goods and services sold on e-commerce platforms meet required standards and technical regulations, according to the draft e-commerce policy. The policy, which is under discussion, also stated that actions and things which cannot be done by the online platform entities "can also not be done" by any of its associates and related parties. Government may, from time to time, notify parties which fall in the definition of associates and related parties, it said.
It also said that there is a need to improve investor confidence about the surrounding ecosystem in the country to attract more FDI inflows.
The week ended October 17 was remarkable as it saw a fall in the unemployment rate. We have not seen such a level in any monthly estimate of the employment rate since March 2020, Mahesh Vyas points out.
Of these 8.5 million additional people employed in September, 6.5 million were in rural India, reveals Mahesh Vyas.
As part of an overall strategy of improving food management to reduce inflationary pressure, the food ministry has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to incentivise organised retail trade in the farm sector.
A panel led by the secretaries of the DEA and the DIPP would conduct a quarterly review on the pending proposals.
The substantially increased economic dualism may exert lasting negative influences which could include a reduced potential for economic growth; the persistence of a very weak employment and poverty situation; rising social and political discord; and heightened vulnerability to geopolitical challenges, cautions Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
'You have come out with a package for the kisan.' 'You have a package for industry.' 'But has anyone addressed the issues concerning small traders?'
Data from the Nashik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation showed that onion was trading at at Rs 24 a kg on Tuesday in the benchmark Lasalgaon mandi in Nashik district of Maharashtra. That's a fall of four per cent since Monday and 40 per cent from Rs 40 a kg on January 20, a level not seen since November 6, 2019. It continues to sell at Rs 40-44 a kg in retail markets across the country.
Last year in January at Amazon's flagship event Smbhav, Infosys Co-founder N R Narayana Murthy had to shorten his keynote speech from 20 minutes to about five because the event was delayed by 1.5 hours. "I will try to finish it in five minutes, because I am not used to delays," said Murthy, while addressing hundreds of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) about building businesses that last. In the audience was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Murthy referred to Bezos' prediction that the 21st century will be the Indian century. "That confidence enhances our enthusiasm," said Murthy. The relationship between Murthy and Bezos dates to 2014, when Prione, a 49:51 joint venture (JV) between Amazon and Murthy's venture capital company Catamaran, was formed.
During his visit to India in May, the Apple CEO had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Increase in disposable income is expected to result in increased spending on lifestyle products.
A proposal by Damas LLC to set up a joint venture with Gitanjali Lifestyles for retail trading of jewelleries will bring in FDI of Rs 180 crore (Rs 1.8 billion), while Danone's plans for food products business do not have any definite FDI content as company for this purpose is yet to be incorporated.
Tesco was the first global retailer to apply for multi- brand retailing in India.
The government should stick to the recent clarifications released on FDI in multi-brand retail trading and not ease the conditions for foreign retailers.
Did you know that women can avail for a loan of upto Rs 20 crores to set up a manufacturing business?
The Reliance Fresh store was closed in Warangal on Wednesday after scores of Telangana Rashtra Samithi cadres staged a protest outside the store, alleging the company's entry into retail trade had hurt the livelihood of small traders.
The new online store, which will be launched on September 23, will provide customers with the same premium experience found in Apple Store locations around the world, delivered by online team members who are ready to offer their expertise, Apple said in a statement.
Prices have continued to move up in Delhi's markets, wholesale and retail, on supply worries and spoilage due to record cold weather.
Currently, the company sells a small quantity through the retail trade.
For insurance intermediaries like brokers, insurance repositories, third-party administrators, etc, 100 per cent FDI may be permitted.
Market players said the new norms were more suited for online brokers, where clients were typically internet savvy.
India's economy could prove to be the "most resilient" in the subregion of South and South-West Asia over the long term, according to a report by the UN, which says a positive but lower economic growth post COVID-19 pandemic and the country's large market will continue to attract investments. The report titled 'Foreign Direct Investment Trends And Outlook In Asia And The Pacific 2020/2021', and compiled by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), stated that inward FDI flows to South and South-West Asia slightly decreased by 2 per cent in 2019, from $67 billion in 2018 to $66 billion in 2019. The growth, however, was mainly driven by India, which accounted for 77 per cent of the total inflows to the subregion and received $51 billion in 2019, up 20 per cent from the previous year.
Opposing a government-panel proposal to hike FDI limit in multi-brand retail, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday said such a move will hurt interest of small traders and mostly benefit large corporates.
The department of industrial policy and promotion, nodal agency for FDI policy under the ministry of commerce and industry, seems to have prepared a note for the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs to consider.
Only 13 per cent employers in India have hiring plans in the July-Septermber quarter, says a survey.
Stating that pushing GDP growth, which has slipped to 5-year low of 6.8 per cent in 2018-19, is the top priority, President Ramnath Kovind said Modi govt will bring more reforms and raise farm investments to boost growth.
The organised retail trade in the country is set to triple to Rs 52,000 crore (Rs 520 billion) by 2010, of a total retail market of Rs 2,085,000 crore
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