FDI in retail is another way for some to make money: VK Singh

FDI in retail sector was in the interest not of the country but of those who could profit from allowing foreign retailers like Walmart, retired army chief VK Singh said on Saturday.

"Some time after Reliancefresh came, they started putting pressure on sellers to sell their products at a lower price. FDI is not in our country’s interest but only for those who want to make money or are under pressure from outside to introduce it in our county," Singh alleged.

"Walmart has been shut down in New York because its chain has ruined small retailers. No farmer in India will benefit from FDI," Singh told a forum on the role of the common people in the current situation.

Stating that farmers were in distress to get seeds and fertilizers, he said seeds available to farmers could be issued for only one produce, "adding to their miseries".

Stressing on the need to support farmers in the face of alleged suicides by a section of them, he said India has 40% arable land, more than China’s, but its production was much higher.