Govt flaunts ease of doing business ranking but stays silent on retail FDI

Many fear that with general elections in 2019, it would be status quo on foreign investment norms

Even as the government on Saturday went all out to showcase its rise in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, global retail biggies expecting some announcement around foreign direct investment (FDI) during the World Food Fair event, were left wanting for more.

According to a number of high-level executives from various global retail players who met Cabinet ministers — Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Suresh Prabhu — and officials from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and NITI Aayog, the government has remained non-committal on making changes as well as allowing FDI in retail.

“This was a perfect event where announcement