Shopping for aam aadmi

On FDI, AAP has hit the common man it seeks to serve

FOREIGN direct investment in retail will benefit the economy, the consumer and the farmer. No one disagrees with that. The only perceived threat is to the existing small retailers, or shopkeepers; many dispute that view. Yet, owing to the niche constituencies they serve, most major parties other than the Congress have opposed multi-brand FDI in retail. The latest to act upon this is AAP, which has gone beyond opposing the concept. It has reversed a policy decision of the previous government. While not allowing this investment is against all modern concepts of trading, turning around policy is an outright dangerous trend. The implications for India as an investment destination go beyond just the retail market. The world could see it as unstable.

Organised retail can bring down the huge profit margins that the commodity delivery chain works on at present in moving food from the farm to the consumer's plate. These profits don't get ploughed back into developing infrastructure. Among the implications are nearly 40 per cent wastage of perishable food, higher prices for the consumer and lower for the producer. FDI would also mean much-needed foreign money being injected into the struggling economy. There are some concerns over unemployment. However, organised retail is not going to hit small shops overnight, if ever. Also, it will generate massive direct employment of its own as well as indirect in the farm and agro-industry sectors. In simple terms, more money can only mean more production and jobs, not less.

To begin with, AAP had formulated policies aimed at Delhi Assembly elections, in which the farmer and national economy may not have been major concerns. But now it hopes to make a mark in the Lok Sabha elections too. It has to realise the huge potential FDI has for the people of the country. AAP's way of referendum would also tell it that. In any case, it is time the party undertook an elaborate exercise of consultations before concretising its views on various national issues, including security, foreign affairs, economy, agriculture and the ideologies propounded by other parties.

Source Link: http://www.tribuneindia.com