F D I

FOREIGN  DIRECT  INTERVENTION



F D I is probably the most popular word in circulation today.
Foreign Direct Investment in retail trade saw our parliament
sitting idle for days together. It gave our MPs another
opportunity to exercise their vocal chords without taxing
their grey cells.

But it was the media that celebrated the most. while the print
media showcased analytical masterpieces on their edit page , our
broadcast friends brought the experts into our drawing rooms. the only
thing that probably lacked was the facility to link to the experts and
ask them questions during the discussions.

Social networking websites made up for this loss. any one could post
whatever they felt and thought they felt about the issue in these
sites. any one could respond to oppose or support any arguement.

In short the issue was discussed so thoroughly that the parliament
has now decided to restart normal function. which means that there is
no scope for another article on the issue. except maybe to highlight a
specific argument i came across during the celebrations.

The argument which first appeared in an expert article on the edit page
of a prominent newpaper said walmart and other international marts
never skip taxes . it is not in their blood. unlike our domestic maals
and wayside petty shops, these global traders bill every transaction.
and the government stands to gain on the tax account. the article went
on to argue that f d i in retial trade should be supported for this economic
reason if not for numerous other reasons both social and political.

It was indeed an eye opener to me. i never knew that tax compliance
could be ensured that easily. i could not also figure out what this meant
to our economy. and i confess that the scope of our own traders turning
honest billers and tax payers, taking a cue from these global brothers,
was not obvious to me until i read the article.

The very purpose of this article therefore is to support foreign direct
intervention in retail trade. thereafter we can slowly but steadily
invite FDI in other areas like law and order, judiciary , defence
matters and finally elections and other democratic entertainments.



m k mathai