The government has approved American e-commerce major Amazon’s proposed USD 500 million investment in retailing of food products in India. The proposal was pending before the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which has been abolished now. Now, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has given the green signal to the proposal. Govt Approves Amazon’s Proposal for FDI in Food As per the proposal, the company will open a wholly-owned subsidiary in India to carry out the business. It will stock food products and sell online. Currently, the government permits 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the food processing sector. As per norms, a foreign company can open a whollyowned subsidiary in India to retail food products produced and/or manufactured in the country by way of opening stores or online. The government had received investment proposals from three companies Amazon, Grofers and Big Basket – worth USD 695 million for retail of food products. While US-based retail giant Amazon is one of the major e-commerce players in India, Grofers and Big Basket are in the online grocery space. The government last year allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through the approval route for trading, including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured and produced in India. In 2016-17 (April-December), the food processing sector in the country received FDI of USD 663.23 million.
(Source: ET Retail.com, July 10, 2017)