Street vendors to protest against FDI

National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) on Saturday called upon street vendor unions all over the country to protest against the central government’s decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail trade.

“We are planning a protest in the coming days which will have  solidarity from street vendors all over the country,” said Ranjit Abhigyan, project manager.

The association members said the FDI infiltration into the retail sector would badly impact the livelihood of vendors and small retailers bringing down their contribution to city, state and national economies. Calling the FDI decision a national disaster for the working poor of the country, NASVI’s national coordinator Arbind Singh said, “It seems the internal economic regeneration through augmenting local urban economies in an inclusive manner and, thereby, boosting the national economy is out of the agenda of the government.”

“FDI would ruin the retail and help the realty sector as the move would create demand for mall and real estate developers for retail space,” Singh said. The members added that on one hand the UPA government is introducing the Bill to protect the livelihood of street vendors, but on the other it is allowing multinational retail giants to threaten their
livelihood.