Rahul Gandhi meets industrialists

Sanjiv Goenka, Shikha Sharma, Harshavardhan Neotia, Nitin Paranjpe attended the meeting at his residence

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today met a small group of industrialists including RP-Sanjeev Goenka Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka and banker Shikha Sharma.

Others who were part of the meeting include Bengal Ambuja Housing Development Ltd MD Harshavardhan Neotia and former Hindustan Unilever CEO Nitin Paranjpe. Sharma is CEO of Axis Bank.

While none of the participants were available for comments, sources privy to the meeting said Gandhi met this small group at his residence this morning and perhaps was his first interaction with industrialists and businessmen.

Besides the current state of economy, Gandhi may have discussed FDI in retail with the participants, most of whom are or were connected with retailing at one point or the other.

RP-Sanjeev Goenka Group owns the Spencer's Retail chain which is a multi-format retailer present across the country, selling electronics, home and office essentials, garments and fashion accessories, toys, and personal care items.

The company is planning to open about 80 large format stores by 2017.