India needs to bring in foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail to control inflation, chief economic adviser to the finance ministry, Kaushik Basu , said on Friday.
India's retail sector is largely closed to foreign firms and favours small family-run stores, with 51 per cent of foreign direct investment allowed only in the single-brand retail sector. Multi-brand retail is restricted to cash-and-carry or wholesale outlets.
Headline inflation in April was at 8.66 per cent despite nine rate hikes by the Indian central bank since March 2010.