The Supreme Court’s appreciation to the FDI in multi-brand retail is surprising. The three-judge bench’s observation that farmers will be benefited from the direct sale to retail giants may not translate in real terms. In the milieu of the government’s policy to slowly scuttle the PDS (public distribution system) and remove agriculture subsidies, the farmers will be pushed to compete in the global market where the retail behemoths would have the option to purchase the cheapest agriculture produce from China or Australia. Though the apex court hails the FDI in retail stating that it would throw out middlemen “who are a curse to Indian economy and who are sinking it”, who can recompense the livelihood of over 4 crore retail merchants, who too could be thrown out in an unequal competition? The bench has evoked “Consumer is the king” philosophy. Okay…the consumer may feel like a ‘king’ in large air-conditioned stores of Wal-Mart or Carrefour, but… can we afford to ignore the misery it is going to bring to our farmers and retail merchants?
Syed Sultan Mohiddin
Kadapa (A.P)