PM pulls FDI in retail, divestment out of the bag
The dream team is now bending its back to exorcise the Left’s nightmares about FDI in retail and disinvestment.
By Rajeev Jayaswal, TNN |
NEW DELHI: The dream team is now bending its back to exorcise the Left���s nightmares about FDI in retail and disinvestment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Planning Commission and the finance ministry to prepare strategy papers on the two contentious issues so that a national consensus can be arrived at.
While the Planning Commission has been asked to draft a ���simple paper��� on retail FDI, the finance ministry will be chalking out the disinvestment strategy, government sources said. The papers are expected to address the concerns of the Left allies, who have been vehemently opposing FDI in retail and disinvestment of profit-making PSUs. The two papers are likely to be ready in three to four months.
Even the National Common Minimum Programme (CMP), in principle, is not against privatisation, sources said. While retaining the Navratnas in the public sector, CMP allows privatisation of PSUs on a case-by-case basis.
On FDI in retail, the government plans to frame a policy which will protect the interests of small shopkeepers. The government is convinced that FDI in retail will not only strengthen the domestic supply chain, but also create more employment.
In an interview with McKinsey Quarterly last month, the PM had clarified his stand on the issue. ���I am convinced that we can work out a package that is fair, that entry of foreign enterprises in retail trade will not hurt our small shopkeepers, but will create a lot more employment. We have to carry conviction with our political colleagues. I am confident that over a period of time, we can do that,��� Singh had said.
While the Planning Commission has been asked to draft a ���simple paper��� on retail FDI, the finance ministry will be chalking out the disinvestment strategy, government sources said. The papers are expected to address the concerns of the Left allies, who have been vehemently opposing FDI in retail and disinvestment of profit-making PSUs. The two papers are likely to be ready in three to four months.
Even the National Common Minimum Programme (CMP), in principle, is not against privatisation, sources said. While retaining the Navratnas in the public sector, CMP allows privatisation of PSUs on a case-by-case basis.
On FDI in retail, the government plans to frame a policy which will protect the interests of small shopkeepers. The government is convinced that FDI in retail will not only strengthen the domestic supply chain, but also create more employment.
In an interview with McKinsey Quarterly last month, the PM had clarified his stand on the issue. ���I am convinced that we can work out a package that is fair, that entry of foreign enterprises in retail trade will not hurt our small shopkeepers, but will create a lot more employment. We have to carry conviction with our political colleagues. I am confident that over a period of time, we can do that,��� Singh had said.
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