India need to remove obstacles limiting investments in its retail and financial sectors to show it is committed to long-term reforms to open up the economy, a leading US trade official said on Wednesday.
"Opening India’s retail sector to foreign multi-brand retailers will allow Indian consumers access to the best products at the lowest prices, and will improve supply chain efficiencies," Franklin Lavin, US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, told a summit of US and Indian business executives.
"Regardless of newspaper stories today about cracks in the dam on retail access, the fact is that barriers remain," he said.
On Monday, Bharti Enterprises announced a tie-up with US retailer Wal-Mart Stores. The stores, to be owned by Bharti Enterprises under the Wal-Mart franchise, are expected to sell a wide range of goods, including food.
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