About restricting foreign companies from setting stores and the future

It is a bit hard to believe that we’re fighting over FDI in retail. It will surely affect a few people but it is inevitable. You cannot think about getting enslaved on a future date and stop the present. If Tesco is able to offer products cheap, it is Tesco’s achievement. Sure, they will hit the market and bowl out the local traders. But the traders have not been very ethical either. They pay the farmers the lowest price (as low as possible) and sell the products at the highest rate possible. If farmers have been ignored till now, let the traders be ignored from now.

About getting enslaved? Well, we are already enslaved. We are not as smart or suitable to western clothes, their culture or their preferences but we always try to look like, act and be like them. The business, technology and innovation areas are dominated by them. We just help them find a solution. Our IITians and IIM pass-outs dream to work for them. Why? It is so because we are not competent enough. We are corrupt and we are just opportunists. If the trade with Europe or America is stopped, think how many Indian traders will be buried? The world is running ahead of us and we still think about getting enslaved. We must have the courage, the dream and the potential to dominate the world. Stopping the giants from setting the stores won’t make us secure. A genuine wish to become genuine will do so.

Another interesting fact is that there are already supermarket chains available in India. They function with the same methodology in which Wal Marts and Tescos work. They are also affecting the local traders. Just because the owners of Big Bazaars, Vishaals and other supermarket chains are Indian, we cannot say that they are justified. I think rather than sinking in the thoughts of getting economically dominated, we must start thinking how we can be the torch bearer of the future. We should think how Indian supermarkets can compete and win in the race. Stopping someone from entering our market is not a solution. With growing convergence, this will happen automatically. We must be visionaries and create companies that can dominate the whole world. I do not see any roadblock. We just have to keep the Indian identity and values intact to create successful corporations. If we have the talent, why should we be afraid of foreign companies?

Another perspective to discuss here is that the world doesn’t function as we, the conservatives, think. Internet has made the market open for all participants. People already buy things cheap from online stores, from abroad. I think a day will come when the major portion of shopping would be carried out online. The retail giants and their physical stores would become irrelevant. We must start building successful online stores from now. Just stopping the giants from setting up stores is not a solution. We must be prepared for a stronger competition from all parts of the world. If we have the will, we will definitely make it big.

I know some people will think that I am a fan of all things American and I have been brainwashed to support them. I have no such will. I like America or Britain as I like India, and a little less than India may be. I do agree that they have made considerable progress in business and technology and I respect them for that. But I really wish India to attain the status these successful countries have. We must be ready to compete and win genuinely. Making political alliances and trying to change the big picture won’t help.

We will probably be able to stop Wal Marts and Tescos from entering our market today, but we cannot stop tomorrow arriving with much more competition than what we have today. I end with a sentence that means much more than what it seems to do.

“The whole world is yours; it is up to you how much you can own.”

N.B- I do not tend to support anyone through my views. It’s purely personal and has nothing to do with any political fraternity or individual. I do think the markets should be open. In India and in all parts of the world.