Bharti, Wal-Mart in wholesale joint venture, says government

07 March 2007

Mumbai: The Bharti Group has tied up with Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, for wholesale trade in the country, the government said.

"As per information furnished by Bharti in January, it is working with Wal-Mart for setting up back-end infrastructure like cold chains, logistics, sourcing and merchandising for cash and carry wholesale operations," minister of state for industry Ashwani Kumar told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said in view of the various representations received on impact of growth of organised retail, a study by a reputed research organisation has been commissioned.

Wal-Mart is the biggest monopoly retailer in the world with a record of labour laws violations, union-busting, displacing small retailers and exploiting small producers of manufactured and agricultural commodities, say opponents of retail FDI.

Its entry into India, which would invariably be followed by the other multinational retailers like TESCO and Carrefour, would monopolise the retail market in India in their hands causing harmful effects to all sections of the people, causing large-scale displacement of small retailers and squeezing of domestic manufacturers and farmers.

Expansion of the Wal-Mart chains has caused massive closure of small stores and pauperisation of poor communities even in the United States.

In the context of huge unemployment existing within the country, such employment displacing FDI is the last thing that the Indian economy needs at the moment.