India Moves to Attract Retailers

The legislation would open the retail sector in 53 cities each with a minimum population of one million. Big Bazaar, a chain of hypermarkets owned by the India-based Future Group, has already introduced the format to the territory, opening over 120 outlets in less than 10 years.

The proposed FDI policies require a minimum investment of $100 million with at least 50 percent investment in back-end infrastructure such as cold storage, distribution, and logistics infrastructure across the country. Local sourcing requirements are included in the plan as well.