India to open retail sector

A top Indian government panel has approved a plan to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's vast retail market in what would be one of the country's biggest economic reforms.

But it said investors would have to put in at least $100 million to set up multibrand retail stores and would only be allowed to operate in cities with at least one million people, the Press Trust of India said late Friday.

The proposal to more fully open up the Indian retail market, whose annual sales are estimated at around $450 billion, now must go to the federal cabinet for approval and then overcome widespread political opposition.

NEW DELHI AFP