No need of reviewing FDI policy in retail: Nath

New Delhi, Feb 23 (UNI) Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath today denied all claims of the Bharti-Wal-Mart JV being affected by the clarification sought by the PMO from his ministry, saying there was no need for a ''relook'' at the FDI policy since it is not allowed in retail.

''There would be no review of the existing FDI policy regarding the wholesale and cash-and-carry sectors. The PMO letter has just asked for its impact on the small retailers,'' Mr Nath told reporters after meeting Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Mike Duke and Bharti Enterprises Chief Sunil Mittal here.

On the possible effect of the letter on the Bharti-Wal-Mart cash-and-carry venture, Mr Mittal said: ''The letter of the PMO is to the ministry. We are not privy to it...we will go ahead with our JV with Wal-Mart.'' The PMO, which had earlier sent a letter to the commerce ministry, has again snapped a letter to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) ''to commission a study on the impact of transnational supermarkets, like large scale retailers or Indian businesses, on livelihood security of those engaged in small scale operations, before taking further decisions on FDI in retail''.

The letter comes in the wake of Wal-Mart executives who are in India to observe Indian retail formats meeting the Commerce Minister and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in the national capital.

Bharti Enterprises earlier in the day announced its cash-and -carry and logistics joint venture with the world's largest retailer will be finalised by mid-March.

This letter has asked for a study to be done by a ''regulatory body or acadamic institution,'' the time frame for which ''should be reasonable so that it can be feed into policy making in the near future.

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