Industry for phased FDI for etailers

New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman met industry bodies to formulate a policy on FDI in ecommerce sector. After interacting with industry representatives, Mr Sitharaman said, “It was the first meeting.... We are not taking any position this way or that way from the ministry. We have heard everybody. In fact, this is not going to be sufficient.” She said that more such discussion will happen with industry representatives and state governments in the coming days.

Officials of the CII, Ficci, Nasscom, USIBC, ebay, Ikea, H&M, Japan Plus, Decathlon,  Amazon, and trade body Confederation of All India Traders attended the meeting. CII said it is favours FDI in the business to consumer (B2C) segment, but the sector should be given some time to come to a level where it can compete globally.

The Retailers Association of India (RAI), however, sought a level-playing field across different retail formats. “The treatment meted out by the government to the two players is inequitable,” RAI said in a statement.