India is the 3rd largest producer of agriculture, but do not have the technologies to process the goods. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail helps in transfer of new technologies, management skills, and intellectual properties. It can increase competition within the local market, ensure quality, brings higher efficiencies and reduce the cost of the products. It will increase the awareness about the foreign brands and there may be change in the lifestyle of a section of the Indian Society. FDI also helps in increasing exports and tax revenues. The entry of foreign companies into Indian Retailing will create many employment opportunities mainly for well technically skilled and educated. However, majority of Indian population are still illiterates though skilled. Lack of proper education keeps them behind. Similarly, the organised retail will tend to dominate the entire consumer market in the long run as it will make the Indian markets more prone to international fluctuations. The entry of foreign retailers in our country will not only hit the livelihood of the local retailers but also the middlemen working in their industry may be thrown out of the job. Thus, foreign direct investment in India will affect adversely the job opportunities of common man, livelihood of small shopkeepers and middlemen etc. which will harm economy. Hence, as a whole FDI in retail is not good for Indian economy. Global experience even in advanced countries such as US, Germany etc. is also not much good in this regard. If government, in spite of many drawbacks, still wants to continue FDI in retail, it should have to create rules and regulations to keep control and maintain the growth level in India.
