The argument that foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail would lead to job losses is not justified. Every big change in India is usually preceded by an uproar. When computerisation was introduced, banking unions were outraged. But computerisation added new jobs in the sector thanks to large-scale businesses and the need for computer specialists. At that time, banking unions looked at computerisation as “robotisation”, or the complete absence of human intervention in the use of computers.
Similarly, tailoring shops in towns and cities are slowly declining, as more people prefer ready-made clothes. What happened to “tailor masters”? With the shift in the people’s choices, tailors are simply employed in ready-made garments factories. There is no loss of jobs or low wages.
In the case of retail FDI, middlemen will now be employed in retail stores. In the farm sector, FDI will turn agriculture into an industry that will produce crops according to demand, both in terms of quantity and quality. More capital in the farm sector will help truly modernise farming. Since the income of the farmer will increase, his son would not perceive farming as “non-profitable”, and would opt to become a farmer too.
Ravi Kant Mumbai
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