The Caravan and India Ink get together for a conversation on ‘Who’s afraid of foreign retail?’

The Caravan and India Ink, part of The New York Times group, has organised an evening of coffee and conversation on the topic ‘Who’s Afraid of Foreign Retail?’. The event, scheduled for 2 January at Mumbai, is part of the ‘The Caravan Conversations’ series.

The conversation, moderated by Salil Tripathi, contributing editor, The Caravan, will feature Meera Sanyal, chairperson, RBS India, Vikas Bajaj, South Asia Correspondent, The New York Times and Vivek Dehejia, Economist, Carleton University.

Elaborating on the theme, organisers feel that “the initial announcement that foreign investors could take a majority stake in multi-brand retail operations brought forth a vast range of conflicting responses. Those supporting the move claimed it would improve consumer choice, bring prosperity to farmers, reduce prices, reduce waste, and improve productivity. Those opposing it argued that small shops would die, farmers would suffer, prices would rise and inequality would continue to widen. It was, once again, the familiar argument over Shining India vs Declining India: is the glass half empty or half full?”