Writing Research Papers

Company Policies And Procedures Of The Hotel Total Rewards

2. COMPANY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES No one under 18 years of age is permitted to work on assignment as an internal or external worker. Your pay is an important part of the overall compensation package that this hotel offers you for the work you do and the contributions you make. To achieve our mission of making life better for people around the world, we need all our employees performing at their best. That s why we use our compensation programs to reward and recognize your contributions and performance. Compensation is one element of the Hotel Total Rewards, which also includes benefits, learning and development opportunities, and other amenities such as cafeterias, well-being programs, and employee activities. In this section, you ll†¦show more content†¦o Concierge A hotel concierge recommends dining spots, book reservations, let customers know about discounts for attractions and more. o Event Planning Events like business meetings, banquets or family meetings. They meet with potential customers, quote prices, secure contracts and provide event coordination services. o Housekeeping Hotel housekeepers are responsible for cleaning guest rooms, preparing vacant rooms for new guests, and also keeping common areas of the hotel - such as lobbies, bathroom facilities and workout rooms - clean. o Maintenance Maintenance employees are responsible for the upkeep of hotel facilities and equipment. Duties may include repairing furniture, troubleshooting electronic equipment, grounds keeping and pool maintenance. o Food Service Hotels that have restaurant facilities hire cooks and wait staff to prepare and serve food and drinks. Positions may include opportunities for chefs, cooks, bus staff, servers, bartenders and more. This may include dining room meal, room service takeout and delivery and catering. Salary scales define the amount of base pay available for a job or group of jobs. The scales, or ranges, allow for jobs with similar scope or level of responsibility to reflect market differences as well as differences based on level of contribution, which helps drive our high-performance culture. Within every type of job we can find three

Correlation between Mindfulness and Attention Improvement Free Sample

Question: Write a Brief Lab Report based on One of the Experiments run on Attentional Blink and Mindfulness. Answer: Method Participants-The sample for this experiment comprised 85 introductory students with age ranging between 19 and 52 years who finished experimental tasks on the classroom computers as a component of an in-class task (62, 72.9% Females, Mage=24.9 years, Age SD = 7.14, 21, 24.7% Males, Mage=24.9 years, Age SD=7.14 and 2 (2.4%) participants not specified. The control group comprised 34 (40%) participants and the experimental group had 51 (60%) participants. All the prospective subjects were informed effectively that in-class activity was optional and they had an option to choose to participate. The interested subjects gave informed consent and every experiment procedure got approval by UNSSW Ethics Committee. The subjects per individual testing session comprising up to eight students were assigned randomly to same condition yielding 34 participants in control group and 51 participants in experimental group. Materials The manipulation of mindfulness took place and the attentional blindness was measured using a standardized task. The participants completed a task of inattentional blindness. The 19 letters moved around in sequence the screen of the computer as the new one overwriting its predecessor. The subject were asked to judge whether letter K and J bounced on the edge of the screen or were in the sequence. After completing the task, subjects reported number of bounces. The subjects were also asked whether they observed unexpected or unusual thing during the task. Design The experimental design was used in this study to determine the effects of mindfulness on attentional blink. The experiment was based on the CogLab 2.0 Online Library. It was appropriate for this study as it provided students and instructors the opportunity to partake as subjects in the classic experiment of the cognitive psychology. The updated version on CD-ROM provided the best opportunity to complete the experiment even in the absence of Internet connection or web browser. The CD-ROM permitted the students to merge and calculate class average of data generated. Several letters are indicated in swift succession with individual letter overwriting initial letter. The students in the experimental group were required to watch the whole sequence and subsequently indicate whether some target letters within the sequence. The sequence were carefully constructed to systematically vary temporal separation between two target letters J and K. A sequence of JXTVRK placed K 5 letter-spaces beyond J. Procedure On individual trial of the experiment, a sequence of nineteen letters was presented, with each new letter overwriting the initial letter. Individual letter was presented for solely a hundred milliseconds. The task of the participant was to make a judgment on whether the letters J or K were within the above sequence. The independent variable for the experiment was the temporal separation of the above letters. On the same trial, a K could have succeeded J with solely one letter in between. On the other trial, a J could have succeeded a K with 5 letters in between. One certain trials solely a J or a K was presented. Results An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was first conducted to examine the main effect of mindfulness condition on ability to detect the first target, regardless of target position. Results indicated that participants in the mindfulness condition were not significantly more likely to detect the first target stimulus when compared to the control condition, F (1, 83) = .183, p = .670. Analyses then examined differences between the conditions for each position of the second target to determine the impact of mindfulness on attentional blink. No significant differences were found between the groups. Further regression analyses then examined the impact of age and gender on performance. No effect for age or gender was found for ability to detect the first target. However, age was significantly associated with ability to detect the second target when the separation was zero (B = .37, SE = .15, p = .015) and two (B = .58, SE = .18, p = .001) such that older age was associated with better performance across both conditions. No difference in performance was found based on tutorial group allocation. Means and standard deviations for rate of target detection across groups are presented in Table 1. Table 1. Target detection rate, by condition. Control condition, M(SD), N=34 Mindfulness condition, M(SD), N=51 Target detection First target (%) 58.25(14.13) 56.98(12.84) Target detection Second target Separation 0 (%) 6.62(7.95) 9.31(12.73) Separation 2 (%) 37.44(13.85) 36.59(11.37) Separation 4 (%) 44.85(19.68) 41.27(17.17) Separation 6 (%) 56.56(22.28) 56.67(19.94) Separation 8 (%) 63.59(18.58) 66.18(17.22) Discussion People are usually unconscious of what is observable before them. Simon Chabris (1999) classic research unearthed that when participants were queried to count passes between basketball players, several subject failed to notice an individual in a gorilla suit walking through the middle of the game. These failures of declarative awareness are dubbed inattentional blindness (IB). These failures often happen when unexpected stimuli is presented in the course of goal-directed activities. Such visual awareness failures have significant real-life consequences (Malinowski et al., 2015). The prominent outcome was that the second letter target identification remained extremely low when it swiftly follows first target letter. As the temporal separation rises, the second letter identification enhances. The above result suggest that when the viewer sees the first target letter, he has to attend to it to make sure that it will be recollected later. The focusing of attention to such a letter clearly needs time, and when the second target letter appears during the same time, it is never attended and hence unreported. By viewing at acknowledgement of the second letter as a function of separation, the time needed for focusing and breaking attention for stimulus can be estimated. Chabris et al (2011) study discovered that several subjects failed to notice a physical assault taking place nearby due to the risk of IB. A single applicant protective variable of a mindful state. Mindfulness describes the capacity to monitor both sensory and perceptual stimuli along with experiences, moment-by-moment within a non-judgmental way. Mindfulness is inducible or trainable utilizing simple awareness exercises like mindfully eating raisins, mediation practices of mindfulness, and programs of interventions like MBSR program. A fundamental characteristic of such mindfulness-boosting practices is their emphasis on nurturing greater attention to as well as awareness towards ongoing sensory along with perceptual stimuli as well as experiences. The capacity development for non-judgmental monitoring of experience assists to distinguish mindfulness from the rest of attention training. In fact, latest studies are suggestive that a capacity for monitoring internal as well as external experience in the course of mindfulness meditation training enhance behavioural attention measures. The briefer induction for example, improve attentional abilities relative to passive control conditions through instructions to attend to as well as engage with the given task (Schofield, Creswell Denson, 2015). The following graph has been drawn to showcase whatever was being predicted and the rationale for such predictions. It indicates the percentage of times the participants detected the first as well as the second target letters as a function of their separation. As shown in the above graph, it was discovered that the second target is detected more often with increasing separation. The second target letters curve slants up from the LHS to RHS. As shown in the graph, separation zero means that there was no second target, and hence the percentage reported was closer to zero as expected. It was also found that the detection of the first target letter remains relatively unaffected by the separation. This outcome is in support of the hypothesis that bringing attention to the first target distracts the detection of the second target letter but the reverse does not hold (Moore et al., 2012). Even though this task undertaken in the experiment seems rather absurd, it remains quite analogous to tasks certain individuals have to undertake on their daily life. For example, in the airline industry, the pilot and controllers always attend to several diverse stimuli which alter features very swiftly (Mrazek et al., 2013). The temporal characteristics of attention unearthed via studies like this experiment assist in the development of more general attentional theories, with instantaneous applications to high-pressure contexts. One needs to examine the robustness of this effect and the associated limitations. The attentional blink remains extremely robust. It is observable with a vast range of stimuli, not merely letters (Lippelt, Hommel Colzato, 2014). The experiments relating to attentional blink experiments have been utilized when studying the effects of aging as well as Alzheimers disorders on attention (Fan et al., 2015). As depicted in the above graph, the plots indicated the percentage of times the participants reported observing the first or the second of the target letters (different lines) within a stream as a function of the separation between letters. The separation of zero implies solely the first letter was actually exposed. The expected results is that the percentage of the reports for the first letter have no much variations with separation. For the second target letter, however, there needs to be few reports at the separation zero while the percentage of reports increasing with separation (Choisdealbha et al., 2017). The results indicate that a mindful states induction changes how distractor is processed while involved in primary task. The principle discovery from this experiment remains consistent with mindfulness raising monitoring of environment, and particularly implicate nurturing of better conscious awareness. Based on the above findings, it is suggested that merely characterizing mindfulness as enhancing attention could not perform any justice to nuances of its impacts (Asplund et al., 2014). The application of the above findings are that mindfulness will improve the attentional blink and, hence, can help avoid collisions in driving simulations that are often associated with inattentional blindness. The driving behaviour can thus be improved when brief mindfulness interventions are applied in context of driving to boost the detectability of unexpected risks of collision (Slagter et al., 2016). References Asplund, C. L., Fougnie, D., Zughni, S., Martin, J. W., Marois, R. (2014). The attentional blink reveals the probabilistic nature of discrete conscious perception. Psychological science, 0956797613513810. Choisdealbha, . N., Piech, R. M., Fuller, J. K., Zald, D. H. (2017). Reaching back: the relative strength of the retroactive emotional attentional blink. Scientific Reports, 7. Fan, Y., Tang, Y. Y., Tang, R., Posner, M. I. (2015). Time course of conflict processing modulated by brief meditation training. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 911. Lippelt, D. P., Hommel, B., Colzato, L. S. (2014). Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativityA review. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 1083. Malinowski, P., Moore, A. W., Mead, B. R., Gruber, T. (2015). Mindful aging: the effects of regular brief mindfulness practice on electrophysiological markers of cognitive and affective processing in older adults. Mindfulness, 1-17. Moore, A. W., Gruber, T., Derose, J., Malinowski, P. (2012). Regular, brief mindfulness meditation practice improves electrophysiological markers of attentional control. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 6, 18. Mrazek, M. D., Franklin, M. S., Phillips, D. T., Baird, B., Schooler, J. W. (2013). Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering. Psychological science, 24(5), 776-781. Schofield, T. P., Creswell, J. D., Denson, T. F. (2015). Brief mindfulness induction reduces inattentional blindness. Consciousness and cognition, 37, 63-70. Slagter, H. A., Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Francis, A. D., Nieuwenhuis, S., Davis, J. M., Davidson, R. J. (2007). Mental training affects distribution of limited brain resources. PLoS Biol, 5(6), e138. Slagter, H. A., van Wouwe, N. C., Kanoff, K., Grasman, R. P. P. P., Claassen, D. O., van den Wildenberg, W. P. M., Wylie, S. A. (2016). Dopamine and temporal attention: An attentional blink study in Parkinson's disease patients on and off medication. Neuropsychologia, 91, 407-414. Tang, Y. Y., Posner, M. I. (2009). Attention training and attention state training. Trends in cognitive sciences, 13(5), 222-227.

The Role of Fdi in India Essay Example

The Role of Fdi in India Essay FDI Policy in India FDI as defined in Dictionary of Economics (Graham Bannock et. al) is investment in a foreign country through the acquisition of a local company or the establishment there of an operation on a new (Greenfield) site. To put in simple words, FDI refers to capital inflows from abroad that is invested in or to enhance the production capacity of the economy. [3] Foreign Investment in India is governed by the FDI policy announced by the Government of India and the provision of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999. The Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’) in this regard had issued a notification,[4] which contains the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or issue of security by a person resident outside India) Regulations, 2000. This notification has been amended from time to time. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India is the nodal agency for motoring and reviewing the FDI policy on continued basis and changes in sectoral policy/ sectoral equity cap. The FDI policy is notified through Press Notes by the Secretariat for Industrial Assistance (SIA), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The foreign investors are free to invest in India, except few sectors/activities, where prior approval from the RBI or Foreign Investment Promotion Board (‘FIPB’) would be required. FDI Policy with Regard to Retailing in India It will be prudent to look into Press Note 4 of 2006 issued by DIPP and consolidated FDI Policy issued in October 2010[5] which provide the sector specific guidelines for FDI with regard to the conduct of trading activities. a) FDI up to 100% for cash and carry wholesale trading and export trading allowed under the automatic route. ) FDI up to 51 % with prior Government approval (i. e. FIPB) for retail trade of ‘Single Brand’ products, subject to Press Note 3 (2006 Series)[6]. c) FDI is not permitted in Multi Brand Retailing in India. Entry Options For Foreign Players prior to FDI Policy Although prior to Jan 24, 2006, FDI was not authorised in retailing, most general players had been operating in the country. Some of entrance routes u sed by them have been discussed in sum as below:- 1. Franchise Agreements We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Fdi in India specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Fdi in India specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Fdi in India specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is an easiest track to come in the Indian market. In franchising and commission agents’ services, FDI (unless otherwise prohibited) is allowed with the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. This is a most usual mode for entrance of quick food bondage opposite a world. Apart from quick food bondage identical to Pizza Hut, players such as Lacoste, Mango, Nike as good as Marks as good as Spencer, have entered Indian marketplace by this route. 2. Cash And Carry Wholesale Trading 00% FDI is allowed in wholesale trading which involves building of a large distribution infrastructure to assist local manufacturers. [7] The wholesaler deals only with smaller retailers and not Consumers. Metro AG of Germany was the first significant global player to enter India through this route. 3. Strategic Licensing Agreements Some foreign brands give exclusive licences and distribution rights to Indian companies. Through these rights, Indian compan ies can either sell it through their own stores, or enter into shop-in-shop arrangements or distribute the brands to franchisees. Mango, the Spanish apparel brand has entered India through this route with an agreement with Piramyd, Mumbai, SPAR entered into a similar agreement with Radhakrishna Foodlands Pvt. Ltd 4. Manufacturing and Wholly Owned Subsidiaries. The foreign brands such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, etc. that have wholly-owned subsidiaries in manufacturing are treated as Indian companies and are, therefore, allowed to do retail. These companies have been authorised to sell products to Indian consumers by franchising, internal distributors, existent Indian retailers, own outlets, etc. For instance, Nike entered through an exclusive licensing agreement with Sierra Enterprises but now has a wholly owned subsidiary, Nike India Private Limited. FDI in Single Brand Retail The Government has not categorically defined the meaning of â€Å"Single Brand† anywhere neither in any of its circulars nor any notifications. In single-brand retail, FDI up to 51 per cent is allowed, subject to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval and subject to the conditions mentioned in Press Note 3[8] that (a) only single brand products would be sold (i. . , retail of goods of multi-brand even if produced by the same manufacturer would not be allowed), (b) products should be sold under the same brand internationally, (c) single-brand product retail would only cover products which are branded during manufacturing and (d) any addition to product categories to be sold under â€Å"single-brand† would require fresh approval from the government. While the phrase ‘sing le brand’ has not been defined, it implies that foreign companies would be allowed to sell goods sold internationally under a ‘single brand’, viz. Reebok, Nokia, Adidas. Retailing of goods of multiple brands, even if such products were produced by the same manufacturer, would not be allowed. Going a step further, we examine the concept of ‘single brand’ and the associated conditions: FDI in ‘Single brand’ retail implies that a retail store with foreign investment can only sell one brand. For example, if Adidas were to obtain permission to retail its flagship brand in India, those retail outlets could only sell products under the Adidas brand and not the Reebok brand, for which separate permission is required. If granted permission, Adidas could sell products under the Reebok brand in separate outlets. what is a ‘brand’? Brands could be classified as products and multiple products, or could be manufacturer brands and own-label brands. Assume that a company owns two leading international brands in the footwear industry – say ‘A’ and ‘R’. If the corporate were to obtain permission to retail its brand in India with a local partner, it would need to specify which of the brands it would sell. A reading of the government release indicates that A and R would need separate approvals, separate legal entities, and may be even separate stores in which to operate in India. However, it should be noted that the retailers would be able to sell multiple products under the same brand, e. g. , a product range under brand ‘A’ Further, it appears that the same joint venture partners could operate various brands, but under separate legal entities Now, taking an example of a large departmental grocery chain, prima facie it appears that it would not be able to enter India. These chains would, typically, source products and, thereafter, brand it under their private labels. Since the regulations require the products to be branded at the manufacturing stage, this model may not work. The regulations appear to discourage own-label products and appear to be tilted heavily towards the foreign manufacturer brands There is ambiguity in the interpretation of the term ‘single brand’. The existing policy does not clearly codify whether retailing of goods with sub-brands bunched under a major parent brand can be considered as single-brand retailing and, accordingly, eligible for 51 per cent FDI. Additionally, the question on whether co-branded goods (specifically branded as such at the time of manufacturing) would qualify as single brand retail trading remains unanswered. FDI in Multi Brand Retail The government has also not defined the term Multi Brand. FDI in Multi Brand retail implies that a retail store with a foreign investment can sell multiple brands under one roof. In July 2010, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce circulated a discussion paper[11] on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail. The paper doesn’t suggest any upper limit on FDI in multi-brand retail. If implemented, it would open the doors for global retail giants to enter and establish their footprints on the retail landscape of India. Opening up FDI in multi-brand retail will mean that global retailers including Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco can open stores offering a range of household items and grocery directly to consumers in the same way as the ubiquitous ’kirana’ store. Foreign Investor’s Concern Regarding FDI Policy in India For those brands which adopt the franchising route as a matter of policy, the current FDI Policy will not make any difference. They would have preferred that the Government liberalize rules for maximizing their royalty and franchise fees. They must still rely on innovative structuring of franchise arrangements to maximize their returns. Consumer durable majors such as LG and Samsung, which have exclusive franchisee owned stores, are unlikely to shift from the preferred route right away. For those companies which choose to adopt the route of 51% partnership, they must tie up with a local partner. The key is finding a partner which is reliable and who can also teach a trick or two about the domestic market and the Indian consumer. Currently, the organized retail sector is dominated by the likes of large business groups which decided to diversify into retail to cash in on the boom in the sector – corporates such as Tata through its brand Westside, RPG Group through Foodworld, Pantaloon of the Raheja Group and Shopper’s Stop. Do foreign investors look to tie up with an existing retailer or look to others not necessarily in the business but looking to diversify, as many business groups are doing? An arrangement in the short to medium term may work wonders but what happens if the Government decides to further liberalize the regulations as it is currently contemplating? Will the foreign investor terminate the agreement with Indian partner and trade in market without him? Either way, the foreign investor must negotiate its joint venture agreements carefully, with an option for a buy-out of the Indian partner’s share if and when regulations so permit. They must also be aware of the regulation which states that once a foreign company enters into a technical or financial collaboration with an Indian partner, it cannot enter into another joint venture with another Indian company or set up its own subsidiary in the ‘same’ field’ without the first partner’s consent if the joint venture agreement does not provide for a ‘conflict of interest’ clause. In effect, it means that foreign brand owners must be extremely careful whom they choose as partners and the brand they introduce in India. The first brand could also be their last if they do not negotiate the strategic arrangement diligently. Concerns for the Government for only Partially Allowing FDI in Retail Sector A number of concerns were expressed with regard to partial opening of the retail sector for FDI. The Hon’ble Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, in its 90th Report, on ‘Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector’, laid in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on 8 June, 2009, had made an in-depth study on the subject and identified a number of issues related to FDI in the retail sector. These included: It would lead to unfair competition and ultimately result in large-scale exit of domestic retailers, especially the small family managed outlets, leading to large scale displacement of persons employed in the retail sector. Further, as the manufacturing sector has not been growing fast enough, the persons displaced from the retail sector would not be absorbed there. Another concern is that the Indian retail sector, particularly organized retail, is still under-developed and in a nascent stage and that, therefore, it is important that the domestic retail sector is allowed to grow and consolidate first, before opening this sector to foreign investors. Antagonists of FDI in retail sector oppose the same on various grounds, like, hat the entry of large global retailers such as Wal-Mart would kill local shops and millions of jobs, since the unorganized retail sector employs an enormous percentage of Indian population after the agriculture sector; secondly that the global retailers would conspire and exercise monopolistic power to raise prices and monopolistic (big buying) power to reduce the prices received by the suppliers; thirdly, it would lead to asymmetrical growth in cities, causing discontent and soci al tension elsewhere. Hence, both the consumers and the suppliers would lose, while the profit margins of such retail chains would go up. LIMITATIONS OF   THE PRESENT SETUP Infrastructure There has been a lack of investment in the logistics of the retail chain, leading to an inefficient market mechanism. Though India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables (about 180 million MT), it has a very limited integrated cold-chain infrastructure, with only 5386 stand-alone cold storages, having a total capacity of 23. 6 million MT. , 80% of this is used only for potatoes. The chain is highly fragmented and hence, perishable horticultural commodities find it difficult to link to distant markets, including overseas markets, round the year. Storage infrastructure is necessary for carrying over the agricultural produce from production periods to the rest of the year and to prevent distress sales. Lack of adequate storage facilities cause heavy losses to farmers in terms of wastage in quality and quantity of produce in general. Though FDI is permitted in cold-chain to the extent of 100%, through the automatic route, in the absence of FDI in retailing; FDI flow to the sector has not been significant. Intermediaries dominate the value chain Intermediaries often flout mandi norms and their pricing lacks transparency. Wholesale regulated markets, governed by State APMC Acts, have developed a monopolistic and non-transparent character. According to some reports, Indian farmers realize only 1/3rd of the total price paid by the final consumer, as against 2/3rd by farmers in nations with a higher share of organized retail. Improper Public Distribution System (â€Å"PDS†) There is a big question mark on the efficacy of the public procurement and PDS set-up and the bill on food subsidies is rising. In spite of such heavy subsidies, overall food based inflation has been a matter of great concern. The absence of a ‘farm-to-fork’ retail supply system has led to the ultimate customers paying a premium for shortages and a charge for wastages. No Global Reach The Micro Small Medium Enterprises (â€Å"MSME†) sector has also suffered due to lack of branding and lack of avenues to reach out to the vast world markets. While India has continued to provide emphasis on the development of MSME sector, the share of unorganised sector in overall manufacturing has declined from 34. % in 1999-2000 to 30. 3% in 2007-08[12]. This has largely been due to the inability of this sector to access latest technology and improve its marketing interface. Rationale behind Allowing FDI in Retail Sector FDI can be a powerful catalyst to spur competition in the retail industry, due to the current scenario of low competition and poor productivity. The policy of single-brand retail was adopt ed to allow Indian consumers access to foreign brands. Since Indians spend a lot of money shopping abroad, this policy enables them to spend the same money on the same goods in India. FDI in single-brand retailing was permitted in 2006, up to 51 per cent of ownership. Between then and May 2010, a total of 94 proposals have been received. Of these, 57 proposals have been approved. An FDI inflow of US$196. 46 million under the category of single brand retailing was received between April 2006 and September 2010, comprising 0. 16 per cent of the total FDI inflows during the period. Retail stocks rose by as much as 5%. Shares of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd ended 4. 84% up at Rs 441 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Shares of Shopper’s Stop Ltd rose 2. 02% and Trent Ltd, 3. 19%. The exchange’s key index rose 173. 04 points, or 0. 99%, to 17,614. 48. But this is very less as compared to what it would have been had FDI upto 100% been allowed in India for single brand. The policy of allowing 100% FDI in single brand retail can benefit both the foreign retailer and the Indian partner – foreign players get local market knowledge, while Indian companies can access global best management practices, designs and technological knowhow. By partially opening this sector, the government was able to reduce the pressure from its trading partners in bilateral/ multilateral negotiations and could demonstrate India’s intentions in liberalising this sector in a phased manner. Permitting foreign investment in food-based retailing is likely to ensure adequate flow of capital into the country its productive use, in a manner likely to promote the welfare of all sections of society, particularly farmers and consumers. It would also help bring about improvements in farmer income agricultural growth and assist in lowering consumer prices inflation. Apart from this, by allowing FDI in retail trade, India will significantly flourish in terms of quality standards and consumer expectations, since the inflow of FDI in retail sector is bound to pull up the quality standards and cost-competitiveness of Indian producers in all the segments. It is therefore obvious that we should not only permit but encourage FDI in retail trade. Lastly, it is to be noted that the Indian Council of Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER), a premier economic think tank of the country, which was appointed to look into the impact of BIG capital in the retail sector, has projected the worth of Indian retail sector to reach $496 billion by 2011-12 and ICRIER has also come to conclusion that investment of ‘big’ money (large corporates and FDI) in the retail sector would in the long run not harm interests of small, traditional, retailers. In light of the above, it can be safely concluded that allowing healthy FDI in the retail sector would not only lead to a substantial surge in the country’s GDP and overall economic development, but would inter alia also help in integrating the Indian retail market with that of the global retail market in addition to providing not just employment but a better paying employment, which the unorganized sector (kirana and other small time retailing shops) have undoubtedly failed to provide to the masses employed in them. Industrial organisations such as CII, FICCI, US-India Business Council (USIBC), the American Chamber of Commerce in India, The Retail Association of India (RAI) and Shopping Centers Association of India (a 44 member association of Indian multi-brand retailers and shopping malls) favour a phased approach toward liberalising FDI in multi-brand retailing, and most of them agree with considering a cap of 49-51 per cent to start with. The international retail players such as Walmart, Carrefour, Metro, IKEA, and TESCO share the same view and insist on a clear path towards 100 per cent opening up in near future. Large multinational retailers such as US-based Walmart, Germany’s Metro AG and Woolworths Ltd, the largest Australian retailer that operates in wholesale cash-and-carry ventures in India, have been demanding liberalisation of FDI rules on multi-brand retail for some time. Thus, as a matter of fact FDI in the buzzing Indian retail sector should not just be freely allowed but per contra should be significantly encouraged. Allowing FDI in multi brand retail can bring about Supply Chain Improvement, Investment in Technology, Manpower and Skill development,Tourism Development, Greater Sourcing From India, Upgradation in Agriculture, Efficient Small and Medium Scale Industries, Growth in market size and Benefits to government through greater GDP, tax income and employment generation. Prerequisites before allowing FDI in Multi Brand Retail and Lifting Cap of Single Brand Retail FDI in multi-brand retailing must be dealt cautiously as it has direct impact on a large chunk of population. Left alone foreign capital will seek ways through which it can only multiply itself, and unthinking application of capital for profit, given our peculiar socio-economic conditions, may spell doom and deepen the gap between the rich and the poor. Thus the proliferation of foreign capital into multi-brand retailing needs to be anchored in such a way that it results in a win-win situation for India. This can be done by integrating into the rules and regulations for FDI in multi-brand retailing certain inbuilt safety valves. For example FDI in multi –brand retailing can be allowed in a calibrated manner with social safeguards so that the effect of possible labour dislocation can be analyzed and policy fine tuned accordingly. To ensure that the foreign investors make a genuine contribution to the development of infrastructure and logistics, it can be stipulated that a percentage of FDI should be spent towards building up of back end infrastructure, logistics or agro processing units. Reconstituting the poverty stricken and stagnating rural sphere into a forward moving and prosperous rural sphere can be one of the justifications for introducing FDI in multi-brand retailing. To actualize this goal it can be stipulated that at least 50% of the jobs in the retail outlet should be reserved for rural youth and that a certain amount of farm produce be procured from the poor farmers. Similarly to develop our small and medium enterprise (SME), it can also be stipulated that a minimum percentage of manufactured products be sourced from the SME sector in India. PDS is still in many ways the life line of the people living below the poverty line. To ensure that the system is not weakened the government may reserve the right to procure a certain amount of food grains for replenishing the buffer. To protect the interest of small retailers the government may also put in place an exclusive regulatory framework. It will ensure that the retailing giants do resort to predatory pricing or acquire monopolistic tendencies. Besides, the government and RBI need to evolve suitable policies to enable the retailers in the unorganized sector to expand and improve their efficiencies. If Government is allowing FDI, it must do it in a calibrated fashion because it is politically sensitive and link it (with) up some caveat from creating some back-end infrastructure. Further, To take care of the concerns of the Government before allowing 100% FDI in Single Brand Retail and Multi- Brand Retail, the following recommendations are being proposed :- Preparation of a legal and regulatory framework and enforcement mechanism to ensure that large retailers are not able to dislocate small retailers by unfair means. Extension of institutional credit, at lower rates, by public sector banks, to help improve efficiencies of small retailers; undertaking of proactive programme for assisting small retailers to upgrade themselves. Enactment of a National Shopping Mall Regulation Act to regulate the fiscal and social aspects of the entire retail sector. Formulation of a Model Central Law regarding FDI of Retail Sector Important highlights of Economic Outlook 2011-12 Agriculture grew at 6. 6% in 2010-11. This year’s monsoon is projected to be in the range of 90 to 96 per cent, based on which Agriculture sector is pegged to grow at 3. % in 2011-12! Industry grew at 7. 9% in 2010-11. Projected to grow at 7. 1% in 2011-12 Services grew at 9. 4% in 2009-10. Projected to grow at 10. 0% in 2011-12 Investment rate projected at 36. 4% in 2010-11 and 36. 7% in 2011-12 Domestic savings rate as ratio of GDP projected at 33. 8% in 2010-11 34. 0% in 2011-12 Current Account deficit is $44. 3 billion (2. 6% of GDP) in 2010-11 and projected at $54. 0 billion (2. 7% of GDP) in 2011-12 Merchandise trade deficit is $ 130. 5 billion or 7. 59% of the GDP in 2010-11 and projected at $154. 0 billion or 7. % of GDP in 2011-12 Invisibles trade surplus is $ 86. 2 billion or 5. 0% of the GDP in 2010-11 and projected at $100. 0 billion or 5. 0% in 2011-12 Capital flows at $61. 9 billion in 2010-11 and projected at $72. 0 billion in 2011-12 FDI inflows projected at $35 billion in 2011/12 against the level of $23. 4 billion in 2010-11 FII inflows projected to be $14 billion which is less than half that of the last year i. e $30. 3 billion Accretion to reserves was $15. 2 billion in 2010-11. Projected at $18. 0 billion in 2011-12 Inflation rate would continue to be at 9 per cent in the month of July-October 2011. There will be some relief starting from November and will decline to 6. 5% in March 2012. Foreign direct investment; net (BoP; US dollar) in India The Foreign direct investment; net (BoP; US dollar) in India was last reported at 11008159606. 75 in 2010, according to a World Bank report released in 2011. The Foreign direct investment; net (BoP; US dollar) in India was 19668790288. 40 in 2009, according to a World Bank report, published in 2010. The Foreign direct investment; net (BoP; US dollar) in India was reported at 24149749829. 71 in 2008, according to the World Bank. Foreign direct investment is net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. This series shows total net, that is, net FDI in the reporting economy from foreign sources less net FDI by the reporting economy to the rest of the world. Data are in current U. S. dollars. This page includes a historical data chart, news and forecast for Foreign direct investment; net (BoP; US dollar) in India. Indias diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for more than half of Indias output with less than one third of its labour force. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1997, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. Total 933. 2 100 2705. 0 100 231530. 1 100