Contd. Organized Retail in India

I suggested earlier that government regulation is needed....Atleast First step taken by government.. ..however this may not be the best policy adopted...but it is somewhat similar to whats done in other parts of world.

Article in Economic Times, Front page, 18-june-2007, Bangalore edition

Big grocery retailers may come under licence raj
SHOPS SPREAD OVER 10,000 SQ FT, RETAILING FOOD AND GROCERY, TO NEED LOCAL NOD
Mayur Shekhar Jha & Rajat Guha NEW DELHI
THE government is mulling the introduction of a licensing regime to regulate grocery, fruits and vegetable retail in the country. As per the model being considered by policy makers, any shop dealing in retail of food and grocery items such as atta, edible oil, fruits and vegetables, and spread over 10,000 sq ft will mandatorily have to seek licence from the local urban body managing that area. The objective is to check unfettered growth of grocery retail and to protect small kirana stores by restricting the mushrooming of organised retail outlets in a particular catchment area. When implemented, the licensing policy will have a direct impact on all hypermarkets where selling of food and grocery items is proposed. Both Reliance and Bharti plan to operate huge hypermarkets, ranging from 50,000 sq ft to even 1.5 lakh sq ft in certain cases. The retailers will be allowed to operate only in a specified catchment area, thus minimising the scope of competition between them and local kirana shops. For one, in the case of Delhi, the MCD, which is the administering authority in most areas, will be empowered to give these licences. Large mega outlets and hypermarkets will be asked to operate from outside the city. The policy is being worked out by the commerce, urban development and labour ministry. According to sources, the move has come at the back of Left parties’ demand of regularisation of retail. “The Ministry of Urban Development is already finalising zonal plans. The zonal plans for Delhi will be ready by January next year. Subsequently, the same model will be followed in other states. The move is aimed at protecting the interest of local kirana stores from unfair competition thrown up by large corporate retailers,” a senior government official said. Zonal plans divide a city or town into different zones, specifying areas for mixed land use. These plans are then incorporated in the city’s master plan. However, when implemented, the mandatory licensing will not impact the basic food and grocery format of retailers like Reliance and Future Group and the proposed Bharti Retail.