New Delhi, January 14
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said the government will examine the decision of the Delhi Government to reverse the policy on FDI in retail.

“One thing I am quite clear is that once a policy has been notified through a due process, there cannot be such departures and we will have it examined,” Sharma said today.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led government in Delhi has become the first state to reverse the previous government’s decision to allow foreign supermarkets to set up shop under the policy of FDI in multi-brand retail.

This will become a test case since the FDI in retail policy is unique in the sense that though it is a Central Government policy, its implementation has been left to the states. Though several states ruled by non-Congress governments had opposed the move, Delhi is the first case where the state is rolling back the policy after a regime change.

Already foreign chains are apprehensive because of the opposition to the policy and are not rushing in. The tricky issue now is what will happen in case foreign-owned stores are set up in a state and then the new regime does not want the policy. In Delhi’s case, no foreign retailer has yet announced plans under the policy.

Slamming the decision of the Aam Aadmi government in Delhi, Sharma said, “If you have populism which misinforms and pushes society to anarchy, it does not bode well for Indian democracy. This is an arbitrary decision which is not well considered and seeks to overrule decision of a legitimate elected government which was in office commanding strong majority”.

The minister came down heavily on the Delhi government’s logic that the move would lead to job losses. “The reasons being given are devoid of logic and merit. Tens of thousands of jobs will be created in the rural and urban areas in processing, sorting packaging etc. So their argument that it will lead to job losses is laughable,” he said.

He also questioned the concept of what an aam aadmi stands for. “Whether farmers, small entrepreneurs, consumers are part of the lexicon called aam admi or are they excluded from them and what seems to come across is that they seem to be more concerned about the interest of the middleman,” he added.

The move has been strongly criticised by the industry. J Suresh, chairman — CII National Retail Committee and managing director & CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands said, “It is unfortunate that the Delhi government has chosen not to allow FDI in retail in Delhi. This will discourage international retailers planning to enter India. I am confident that the Delhi Government will review the merits of the case and do a rethink on this issue”.

The move singed the retail stocks also which came under selling pressure. Shares of Provogue (India) tanked 3.83%, while Trent went down 3.10% and Brandhouse Retails slid by 2.76%. Among others, Shoppers Stop fell by 1.98% and Future Retail lost 1.79% on the BSE.

Chandigarh, January 14
Having set a benchmark for providing low-cost tablets, technology provider Datawind has launched three variants of touch-screen smartphones, with the entry-level model priced at Rs 3,499. With the launch of these low-cost smartphones, Datawind is looking at capturing a sizeable share of the market within the first year itself. The company is targeting the youth and people from middle-income groups.

Talking to The Tribune, Datawind CEO Suneet Tuli said they have entered the smartphone market as it has a much larger market than the tablet market. “The smartphones are being manufactured in China, but the touch-screens for our phones are manufactured in Amritsar. The design and concept of the phone is ours, we are just outsourcing the manufacturing,” he said, adding the idea behind launching these low-cost smartphones was to ensure that the next level of customers can access these devices.

Tuli said the Aakash tablet, which revolutionised the Internet penetration in the country, was still the fastest selling tablet in the Indian market. “Last year, we sold 11 lakh tablets,” he added.

Tuli added that Datawind was also in the race for Aakash 4 tablets. The government has invited tenders to provide tablets to 22 crore students in the next five years, and Datawind is vying to get the orders. “Our prices and quality are unbeatable and we hope to get this contract,” he said. Rs 1,000 minimum pension to be a reality this month 

New Delhi, January 14
Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the government is likely to approve this month a proposal that will entitle formal sector workers a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000, immediately benefiting 27 lakh pensioners.

Those who get less than Rs 1,000 a month include 22 lakh member pensioners and 5 lakh widows as on March 31, 2013.

There are about 44 lakh pensioners.

"The Labour Ministry's revised proposal for minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month was submitted to the Finance Ministry last week, and is likely to be approved this month," said an official source.

The ministry's proposal to assure minimum pension of Rs 1,000 under the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95), run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), is pending for a long time.

Earlier, the ministry had proposed that the government should increase its subsidy on the scheme from 1.16% of the basic wages to 1.79% to assure the minimum pension amount of Rs 1,000 per month.

However, it did not find favour with the Finance Ministry as this would have resulted in permanent increase in subsidy provided by government. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Kuwait keen to buy stake in ONGC projects
Greater Noida: Kuwait Petroleum Corp has shown interest in buying 26% stake in ONGC's Rs 21,396 crore petrochemical plant at Dahej, Gujarat, as well as the company’s Rs 5,750-crore chemical plant at Mangalore. "Kuwait is keen on taking a stake in the petrochemical plants of ONGC... They have envisaged interest in both of them," an OilMin official said after the two firms signed an MoU on the sidelines of Petrotech conference here. — PTI