Only four states and union territories have formally supportedallowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, signifyinglittle backing for the Indian government's move that would facilitate the entryof global chains like Walmart into the country.
"Till date, written communications, indicating support for FDI inmulti-brand retail trade, have been received from the governments of NCT ofDelhi, Manipur, and from the union territory of Daman and Diu, and Dadra andNagar Haveli," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry JyotiradityaScindia said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday.
In June, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) had writtento all states and union territories seeking their support for allowing overseasinvestment in multi-brand retail.
In November last year, the union cabinet had decided to allow upto 51 percentforeign direct investment in multi-brand retail. But the move has been stymiedby protests from opposition as well as some of the allies of the ruling UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA) and the Kerrala's Congress government.
To garner more support for the controversial issue, Commerce and IndustryMinister Anand Sharma has written letters to several state governments,including Punjab, Haryana and Odisha.