Retail FDI report faux-pas: Comm Min in damage control mode

Due to a faux-pas by one of his juniors, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma had to inform Parliament that the reply on FDI in retail from the states was infact incomplete.

What's Hot at 08:00 pm

Share . Email . Print . A+

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma was put in an embarrassing position today. Due to a faux-pas by one of his juniors, Sharma had to inform Parliament that the reply on FDI in retail from the states was infact incomplete, reports CNBC-TV18’s Rituparno Bhuyan.

Yesterday, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Jyotiaditya Scindia informed the Rajya Sabha that only two states and two union territories were in favour of allowing 51% foreign direct investment into the retail sector.

In a statement today, Sharma informed that the reply did not fully reflect the situation, because there were several chief ministers of major agrarian states that supported FDI in retail.

The government had written to all states in June seeking their support for implementing the decision to allow 51% FDI in the multi-brand retail sector.

The Commerce Ministry now plans to amend its reply and add to it, so that it reflects the actual state of consultations between the government and states. Furthermore, sources say that Sharma met with Scindia to chalk out a damage control strategy.

The new reply is set to be filed in the monsoon session of Parliament itself.

Watch Video