BJP wont allow Walmarts to come to India: Yashwant Sinha

Reiterating his party's stance against foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, former finance minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has said that his party will "not allow Walmarts to come" in the country.

Mr. Sinha said that while the BJP will support FDI in general, FDI in multi-brand in retail will not be allowed.

"Multi-brand retail can fall aside," he said in an exclusive interview to NDTV, adding that the government had "messed up FDI in multi-brand retail with conditions".

The government had late last year opened up FDI in multi-brand retail in a signal that India was serious about reforms, and while companies have expressed interest in entering the sector, there has been no action on the ground.

One of the major reasons for local opposition is the worry that millions of small shopkeepers and traders, who also form a sizeable chunk of the vote bank, could go out of business once FDI in multi-brand retail is allowed.

Following a cold response after the announcement last year, the government made several changes in the norms, which included relaxing sourcing and investment norms, and eliminating ownership restrictions, among other things.

While Mr. Sinha was against FDI in multi-brand retail, he laid equal stress on getting foreign investment into the country via other avenues.

"FDI can be encouraged in many other sectors," he said, adding that the BJP government will ensure that "foreign investors make more profit in India than in China".

According to data from Reuters in August, the retail sector in India sees annual sales of $500 billion, with nearly 90 per cent of the market controlled by tiny family-run shops.

Organised retail makes up less than 10 per cent of the market but is expanding at 20 per cent a year, driven by the emergence of shopping centers and malls, and a middle class of close to 300 million and whose numbers are growing at nearly 2 per cent a year.