India's central government finally won parliamentary approval last week for its proposed reform allowing foreign investors to own stakes of 51 percent in multi-brand retail activities. The suggestion to open Indian retailing to foreign interests has been hotly debated for several years: Some view it as an important move to stimulate the Indian economy and to improve its disastrous food supply chain; while several opposition parties regard the reform as a sell-out and a threat to Indian's many thousands of small retailers. The parliamentary go-ahead was widely applauded in the business community but the Indian government still faces criticism from some of its most prominent business people, particularly Ratan Tata in an interview with The Financial Times, about insufficiently decisive moves to stimulate investment in the country. The new foreign direct investment rules on multi-brand retailing are accompanied with restrictions and they will only apply in Indian states where they are approved.

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