Opposition to the FDI-in-retail idea is genuine and widespread. The main reason is
people's distrust of politicians including, in this case, Manmohan Singh. The
Prime Minister is seen as an American camp-follower. Remember his telling the
very unpopular George Bush that the people of India loved him. When he and
“experts” like the World-Bank-branded Ahluwalia say that FDI in retail will do
no harm, people just don't trust them.
It now stands revealed that America
in fact had a major role in Delhi's recent reform package. When Time
magazine put Manmohan Singh on the cover with the title “Underachiever,” India
was shaken. We have a colonial mentality towards western criticism/praise. When
an arbitrary list of “most influential” people is put out by an American
publication, we treat it like an event of great significance. In fact, it is
just routine commercial tricks by market-savvy publications, but because it comes
from the west, we stand up and salaam.
Then came the Washington Post
report calling the Prime Minister a tragic figure. That saw India going crazy.
The Prime Minister's Office issued frantic statements, apologies were demanded,
the Post's correspondent in Delhi was cursed and loud TV anchors held
loud discussions on the topic. Can we imagine the White House moving a little
finger if all the newspapers and magazines in India splashed Obama's picture
and called him an Underachiever which he certainly is? Can we imagine China
caring a damn if the Washington Post described Hu Jintao as a tragic
figure? Can we imagine the Post daring to do that in the first place?
Reports now say that the Time
and Post stories were part of a concerted American campaign to force the
hands of the Indian Government. The US Chamber of Commerce claimed some time
ago that its pressure tactics had made the Indian Government take some key
policy decisions. A specific example
cited was the raising of FDI in single-brand retail from 51 percent to 100
percent. What Time and the Post did this time was the American equivalent of
“Paid News”, the money part of it perhaps waived because it was patriotic
service for the American Flag.
Our country is easy for foreign lobbies
to conquer. Look at the zeal with which Sharad Pawar is fighting for
endosulfan even after it is banned in
the US. FDI in retail has become
suspect because people do not like America arm-twisting the Indian Government.
This is a pity because, in itself, the idea has merit. An alert Government
focussed on the benefits of the local economy and the local people can take
advantage of it. This is what China did. Even Walmart became a tool in the
hands of the Chinese authorities instead of the other way round.
China rejected the FDI-in-retail
concept until its economy reached a certain stage of development. Even then it
moved cautiously, putting a cap of 26 percent initially, raising it to 49
percent later and finally to 100 percent in 2004, that is, 25 years after its
economic reforms began. By then China had achieved phenomenal progress in the
manufacturing sector and in transportation infrastructure. Big-ticket retailers
who came in found that in their own interest they must participate in the local
economy. Walmart with more than 350 supermarkets in the country has 15,000
Chinese suppliers. More than 90 percent of the merchandise it sells in China
are Chinese products. Export of these products to the US has risen too.
The gradual opening of the retail
sector gave time to Chinese small and big retailers time to adapt. Walmart and
Carrefour may be the giants in other countries. But in China the retail giants
are Chinese companies like Bailian, Suning and Gome. China of course had some
advantages, not being the riotous democracy India is. But this is one case
where democracy is not the villain. The villain is a Government – and a culture
– that is scared by American press criticism. We can hear Walmart laughing.