India not to allow multi-brand retailing, Piyush Goyal restates in US

Except this, India is open to all kinds of economic reforms necessary to take the country on an accelerated growth, the minister was cited as saying by a news agency.

"If the need arises, we can re-look at any of these (policies) or the government has the authority through cabinet approval to allow greater percentages (of foreign stakes in various sectors). Or we can go to Parliament and change it also, not a problem, though I do not think any of these requires parliamentary changes," Goyal said in response to a question.

"I want to make it loud and clear that there will be no change in our policy on multi-brand retail. America has suffered the consequences of big tech and large retail and the interplay of the two leading to almost the annihilation of mom-and-pop stores across the length and breadth of the country," he said.

The United States can afford it because its population is much smaller compared to India and there are alternative avenues for people to do jobs in, he added.

Goyal and US secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo convened the sixth ministerial-level meeting of the US-India Commercial Dialogue today and took stock of the achievements since the fifth such meeting in March 2023 in New Delhi.

Both commended the significant progress announced at the recent virtual Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) ministerial meeting in September, including the work being done to improve supply chain resilience under the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement for IPEF partners, a release from the US Embassy in New Delhi said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)