Silent on retail FDI, NaMo terms e-commerce a game-changer

Says retailers must think of online retail as an opportunity

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, known for his pro-business stand, pitched e-commerce as a game-changer for traders, whom he met on a day of back-to-back meetings here on Thursday. Even as his party has been vocal about its opposition to foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, Modi distanced himself from that position and refused to spell out a road map on whether international companies such as Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco should be allowed to operate stores across the country. According to him, “diplomacy in trade and commerce” was the need of the hour.

Without stating his stand on FDI in retail, Modi said, “We don’t have to fear global challenges. We can, in fact, convert this into an opportunity and out-run our global rivals. More than our soldiers, it is our traders who are known for their risk-taking capacity.”

BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, who spoke before Modi at the gathering organised by the Confederation of All India Traders, came out strongly against FDI in multi-brand retail on the reasoning that international majors would adversely impact small and medium traders.

Modi was addressing representatives of 1,500 trade federations from across the country. Responding to the traders’ 10-point charter in which opposing FDI in multi-brand retail was on the top, Modi spoke at length about using e-commerce as a weapon to compete with big brands, domestic and international.



“Even people in small cities want branded products,” he said, and urged traditional retailers to rise to the challenges of modern times. He added traders should make the best use of technology to compete with international brands and companies. “Through e-commerce, traditional retailers can become distributors of branded products and also save on the cost of inventory.” Modi also recommended setting up virtual malls inside small stores, “as having a franchisee would be difficult because of store format restrictions by the brands”.

“Don’t be scared of online growth. Face the challenges and modernise your supply chain and delivery system,” was the BJP leader’s reply to the problems faced by traders.

AT THE INDIA ECONOMIC CONVENTION 2014

Using alliteration
Narendra Modi loves the use of alliteration to make a point about his policy prescriptions. Delivering the keynote address, Modi used the D-word thrice to underline India’s strong potential for high economic growth. India had Democracy, it had Demography and it also had Demand, and no other country in the world had the triple-D advantage, he said. Just as India enjoyed a triple-D advantage, it also suffered from a triple-D handicap, Modi said. The government had suffered from lack of Decisions, Determination and Dedication to take the country forward, Modi argued. He also talked about the importance of the three Rs. This is not about Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Modi’s three Rs are: Respect for individuals, Responsiveness to innovation and Responsibility towards the future generation.

His sharpest comment on the economic performance came when he said the UPA had inherited an economy with an annual growth rate of 8.4 per cent but was demitting office with an economic growth rate of perhaps 4.8 per cent.

On FM’s stamp barb
Hitting back at Finance Minister P Chidambaram for his postage stamp barb, Narendra Modi said he can enlist knowledgeable people to help him govern based on the principle of being a “trustee”. “My knowledge about finance and economy will not occupy even a postage stamp. My whole knowledge can be confined to one word, that is trustee,” he said.

Modi argued it were young Indians who had taken IT to the entire world. “Restore the lost pride of the business community,” he stressed while noting brands in food, clothing and other sectors had gained prominence because of the poor quality of local products. The essence of his address was all that was modern and branded was not necessarily bad.

Batting for simpler tax laws, government assistance to impart basic information technology skills and necessary infrastructure, Modi told traders the BJP had always been seen as a business-friendly party, and it would continue to support them.

He also called for stronger states and the need to end the ‘culture of running the country from Delhi’. The BJP opposed the mentality that viewed the business community as an adversary, he said, while talking about getting a ‘glorious India’ back like in the ‘pre-British’ era.