Govt to soon approve US giant Amazon’s retail food product FDI request: Badal

NEW DELHI: The government will soon clear the US retail giant Amazon's proposed $500 million investment in retail of food products in India, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said on Tuesday.

"There was some delay due to abolition of FIPB. It (Amazon's proposal) will soon be cleared," Badal told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

With the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), the Amazon's proposal will now be vetted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Commerce Ministry.

Badal said that more investment in food processing sector is the need of the hour to reduce the huge wastage during post harvesting and transportation.

Despite India being the world's largest producer of vegetables and fruits, the processing level is very low at 10 per cent, she said, adding that foreign investment will bring new technologies, products, processes and markets.

The government had received investment proposals from three companies - Amazon, Grofers and Big Basket worth $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 into online grocery space. Amazon has proposed to invest around $500 million in retail of food products. The government last year allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through approval route for trading, including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured and produced in India. NEW DELHI: Diversifying into the retail segment, Spicejet on Tuesday announced setting up of an e-commerce portal which is expected to rake in additional revenues worth Rs 150 crore in the first year.

The retail venture Spicestyle would help in driving up the airline's ancillary revenues amid intense competition in the fast-growing domestic aviation sector.

"The new venture will further boost Spicejet's ancillary revenue income which has grown from 6 per cent to around 17 per cent in the last two years," the airline said in a release.

According to an official, the venture is expected to generate Rs 150 crore additional revenue in the first year and increase the overall ancillary revenue to 19 per cent from the present level of 17 per cent. Around Rs 15 crore has been invested for setting up the venture.

Spicestyle, initially conceived as an in-flight service, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spicejet and an e-commerce portal 'www.spicestyle.com' has been set up in this regard.

Besides, it has tied up with Amazon.in to launch an all new brand store. The strategic alliance would offer Spicestyle's entire portfolio of brands on the shopping portal at launch prices offering 25 per cent discount.

Spicestyle offers products across 17 different categories including a signature Rohit Bal, noted fashion designer, series on Amazon. NEW DELHI: Indian employers expect steady hiring outlook for next three months, but their confidence has (rpt) has dipped to the least optimistic level since 2005 amid uncertainties in global markets, says a report.

Globally, the strongest third-quarter hiring plans were reported in Japan, Taiwan, Hungary, while India was ranked at the seventh place with a net employment outlook of just 14 per cent. "In the wake of uncertainties in global markets, employers in India are adopting a wait-and-watch policy. This is probably the reason we are not seeing them commit to the same optimistic hiring plans," Manpowergroup India Group Managing Director A G Rao said.

The survey of 4,910 employers across India indicated that the hiring activity is expected to slow for the sixth consecutive quarter. Rao noted that technology has restructured the way the world functions and organisations are embracing these technologies based on changing business requirements.

"It is important for Indian employers to redefine their workforce strategies and adopt innovative ways to leverage the strength of their employees and stay competitive in an increasingly volatile economy," Rao said. Sector-wise, hiring is primarily driven by sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, transportation and utilities and services where employer hiring sentiment appears to be better.

The most cautious outlook for the next three months was reported by manufacturing, finance, insurance and real estate and mining and construction sectors. The stron- gest labour market is forecast in the South, where the net employment outlook stood at 21 per cent.

Employers in the North reported steady hiring intentions with an outlook of 15 per cent, while outlooks of 10 per cent and 9 per cent were reported in the West and the East, respectively.

Meanwhile, an overview of the global results indicated that employer confidence is similar to that reported in the second quarter with the majority of respondents' content to either retain current staff or grow payrolls marginally as they await more definitive signals from the marketplace.