Report: Indian prime minister candidate speaks in favor of big retail

New Delhi, India – Narendra Modi, candidate of opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Indian prime minister, reportedly has made statements in favor of global online retailing and India’s small retailers learning to compete with large retailers. According to Reuters, at a meeting of the Confederation of All India Traders, Modi said small local retailers should improve the quality of their goods to a level closer to that of large global competitors, and also consider entering contracts with large online retailers to create virtual trade.



Modi, whose party still officially opposes investments by large foreign supermarket chains in India, also said the Indian government should not restrict online trade and also said he supports a nationwide goods and services tax (GST), which is seen as a way to reduce business costs and create a uniform Indian market. He did not openly speak in favor of foreign supermarkets investing in India, but also declined to repeat previous statements against that type of investment. India is expected to hold prime minister elections in April or May 2014.