Hailing the decision to invite foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector as a move in the direction of a major reform, B Muthuraman, president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said it would improve investment sentiment in the country. ?At a time when declining investments have led to slower GDP growth, the entry of foreign funds in retail would go a long way in boosting confidence,? he said in a statement.

According to a CII press release, FDI in multi-brand retail will give a boost to the organised retail sector, which will be beneficial for farmers, consumers, MSMEs and hence the overall economy.

According to a recent CII study, opening up of FDI in retail can increase organised retail market size to $260 billion by 2020. This would result in an aggregate increase in income of $35?45 billion per year for all producers combined; 3?4 million new direct jobs and around 4?6 million new indirect jobs in the logistics sector, contract labour in the distribution and repackaging centres, housekeeping and security staff in the stores.