Chandigarh, December 7 – Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that FDI in retail will benefit the farmers as well as the consumers and will generate employment opportunities. Participating in a programme of a private News Channel on the subject-Why the opposition of FDI at New Delhi, Mr Hooda said that with the implementation of FDI in retail sector, the farmers will get better price for their products, consumers will get quality products at cheaper rates, employment opportunities will increase and basic facilities will get boost in the retail sector. He said that this will be a win-win situation for everyone.
Mr Hooda said that presently farmers are not getting remunerative prices for their products and about 30 to 40 per cent of their vegetables and fruits get damaged. As per the conditions of FDI, foreign investors will have to spend 50 per cent of their investment on the development of infrastructure like constructing godowns, cold stores and providing modern transport. This will save the damage of fruits and vegetables and add to the income of farmers. Consumers will also get quality things at reasonable rates. Mr Hooda emphatically said that only black marketers will suffer as a result of FDI, whose number is just around 5500 in the country.
Mr Hooda said that this is not correct to say that FDI will damage the small retailers. At present also, there are big malls and stores and small retailers are also doing their business. I feel opposition parties are only opposing FDI in retail for political reasons. Mr Hooda clearly said that there is a provision in the FDI policy that it is up to the states to take decision about implementing or not implementing FDI in retail sector in their states. As such, I feel there is hardly any need to oppose FDI policy, because there is no compulsion for any state to implement it.