No fast track for FDI in retail sector: Nath

New Delhi, May 23: Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today said the Government was yet to frame any policy on allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the retail sector and would do so only after studying the full implications of the move.

Replying to the concerns raised by members during a discussion initiated by Dr Murli Manohar Joshi (BJP) that the move will result in large-scale unemployment in the small and unorganised retail segment in the country, Mr Kamal Nath underlined the Government's commitment to uphold the National Minimum Common Programme and ensure creation of employment.

Saying that the Chinese example was often given to buttress the need for FDI entry into this sector, he pointed out that though China's economy was ''FDI-driven having 10 per cent more FDI than India and six times our exports, the rate of economic growth was only one per cent more''.

Denying that the Government was on the fast track to allow big retail players' entry, the Minister said the Government shared the concerns expressed by both the Right and Left members that their entry would unleash ''predatory practices and their deep pockets would replace existing small traders''.

The Commerce Minister kept both the Left and Right members satisfied by concurring with the points raised by Mr Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) on the need to raise employment and protect the unorganised sector and with BJP member Arun Jaitley that the ''give-and-take'' policy on the FDI issue should go hand in hand with concessions extracted for the Service sector under the World Trade Organisation negotiations.

''We cannot put agriculture on the fast track and services on the slow track,'' he said The Commerce Minister said he had studied the implications that FDI entry would have for the retail sector and the issue invariably revolved around ''the question of big retail versus small retail''.

But, in India it was more a case of big Indian retailers resisting the entry of the foreign players.

Mr Kamal Nath said the retail sector in the country was growing substantially. ''It is being serviced by the big retailers, forget about FDI. If the retail sector is not going to grow, where is the growing demand of the middle class going to be met?'' Eds: Here pick up suitably from earlier series.

UNI