Govt to table Walmart probe report in next Parliament session

NEW DELHI: The government will present findings of the probe panel that looked into Walmart's lobbying activities to enter the Indian market, along with action taken report, before Parliament in the monsoon session.

Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal who headed the panel had submitted the report to Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot on May 18.

"Mudgal has given the report and the Ministry is examining it. When the monsoon session of the Parliament starts, we will table the report along with the Action Taken Report," Pilot told reporters here.

He did not divulge specific details. Pilot was speaking on the sidelines of the annual day celebrations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Sources said that an 'Action Taken Report' would be prepared after taking into account the comments from the Corporate Affairs Ministry, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the External Affairs Ministry.

The same would be first presented to the Cabinet and then would be placed before the Parliament in the next session.

Sources had said that an inquiry conducted by the panel remained inconclusive and it was not satisfied with the replies provided by the US-based retail giant on various issues, including on the exact amount spent on its India-specific lobbying activities.

Pursuant to the suggestions made by the committee, which also observed that it lacked necessary "investigative or summoning powers" to conclude that Walmart indulged in lobbying and bribery for India operations, the government is considering initiating further investigations into the matter, they added.

Walmart, on its part, has maintained that it has disclosed all its lobbying activities as per the US rules and it did not violate any Indian regulations in this regard.

The one-man panel, headed by Mudgal, was set up in January after the government announced in Parliament that it would get investigated the issue of Walmart having lobbied hard before the US lawmakers for access to lucrative Indian retail market.