Withholding Foreign Direct Investment

We were bestowed Independence in 1947 by the bleeding Englishmen who trudged home after being inflicted with heavy losses during the 2nd world war and realizing that the costs to run this mammoth country was actually proving to be a bane rather than a boon with rapidly diminishing cost of returns.
This certainly does not take away the colossal efforts, withstanding excruciating Pain and humiliation, the self-less struggle by the countless number of freedom fighters many unnamed, who laid down their lives trying to wrest freedom for their beloved motherland from the manipulative and ruthless British invaders.
Post –Independence we had adequate infrastructure like railways, the iron and steel industry and abundance of textile mills which were started in the Pre- British era for meeting their own selfish needs.
India at that outset in the 1950’s was miles ahead of other Asian countries but were badly let down of the closed mindset of our economists who really could not apply their rusty mind and logic to let in foreign exchange through FDI which could have changed our country’s destiny and landscape forever.
This closed- door economy pursued by each and every successive Govt. failed to rake in the precious foreign exchange which if invested in core projects and Capital intensive ventures like infrastructure would have done wonders for our now sagging and faltering economy. Good quality roads would have saved millions of dollars of foreign exchange doled out for Crude imported every year and reduced the disastrous accidents taking place routinely on our so called highways riddled with craters rather than pot-holes.
The ensuing primitive results are not only disastrous but also very embarrassing.
South Asian Countries like Thailand,S Korea,Singapore,Malaysia, Phillipines and Indonesia have marched past us confidently while we are juggling with tons of food grains rotting in our larder-courtesy Food Corporation Godowns on one hand and unable to feed some estimated 23 million who go hungry each day on the other.
The traders and other middlemen operate in a clandestine and cohort manner and see to it that the operating margin between the Cost of the Produce and the ultimate selling price of the produce is stretched to the maximum for their own self-centered and vested interests.
This group was primarily responsible for spreading malicious and unfounded fears about opening the market for foreign direct Investment in the retail sector. The Opposition leaders with limited or NO knowledge too joined in the melee which culminated in putting the bill on hold at least for the time-being.
The Countries where there is a 100% FDI in retail markets like Brazil, China and Argentina have time and again proved that the fears about galloping inflation and job losses is totally unfounded and uncalled for. Retailers like Walmart,Carrefour,IKEA and Tesco are waiting in the wings to unleash their products which could benefit the end users by the concept of revolutionary selling at competitive prices. The job markets too could be upbeat as these retailers would need local labour both professional and unskilled to market the state of the Art products. Local agricultural producers who are at the mercy of middlemen who pay them a pittance but sell the same produce at an astronomical margin will also stand to benefit if the bill gets through.
The estimated growth in the retail sector is projected at 10% annually
and is a win-win situation for both the foreign investors as well as for our foreign exchange deprived economy.For them the ever surging Indian middle class will provide new customers as their own customer base(in their resp.countries)where the growth rate has turned negative prompting them to turn to greener pastures here.For us newer job opportunities would materialse, farmers are likely to get a better price for their produce given the absence of middlemen.
India has already signed the GATT Agreement-General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and withholding this sector for 100% participation could tantamaount to penal action and complete isolation from trading with member countries a step which we can ill afford to.