FDI will benefit everyone: British High Commission
The British High Commissioner to India, James Bevan said that foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail in India is a welcome step which will not only benefit foreign retailers but also India.
In his keynote opening address at TiEcon Delhi 2012, he said FDI in retail will benefit farmers in terms of securing good prices for their products, developing logistics and infrastructure (especially warehousing), reducing wastage of food products. Assuring that the decision to allow big supermarket chains, such as United Kingdom’s Tesco, will be beneficial to everyone. This will even benefit kirana store owners as they can purchase goods at a cheaper rate from big supermarkets and then resell it with a profit in their local grocery stores.
According to Kartik Kaushik, head (modern retail), Dabur India Ltd, FDI will prove beneficial for entrepreneurs and provide them access to global markets. Addressing a summit at Amity University, he said, “retailing is the most fundamental business in India... everyone starts his day with retail."
Despite opposition, the government has allowed 51% foreign investment in multi-brand retail, however; the decision to permit global retailers open stores has been left with the states.
The Delhi-NCR chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs, a global body of successful entrepreneurs that promotes entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education, organised TiEcon 2012. With 'Entrepreneurship - Thriving in Chaos' as the theme of the conference, the meet was attended by more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and 60 speakers. According to Lord Kiran Billimoria, entrepreneur and founder of Cobra beer, FDI will boost the mood of investors, especially foreign ones who were doubtful about India’s reform process. With FDI, the policy impediment which had gripped the country in recent months is over.
Apart from these, UK colleges and university which had clamped down on alleged student visa scams in Britain are continuing to take in more students from India than just about any other country.
According to Sir James, universities such as Cambridge are admitting more students from India than from any other country. According to him, Britain is welcoming students with information technology background as the British government is giving preference to technology sector. Like Silicon Valley in the United States, a hub in East London, called Tech City, is attracting the best and the brightest in the technology field.
