WB to Allow Expansion of Retail Stores Case-by-Case

The West Bengal government would now allow expansion of existing domestic retail stores in the state on a "case-by-case" basis, Industry and Commerce minister Partha Chatterjee said.

Chatterjee told PTI that "existing stores in the state set up under brand names such as Big Bazaar, Spencer's and More would be allowed to function and would not be affected".

The West Bengal assembly today adopted a resolution against FDI and domestic capital in retail trade.

To a question, Chatterjee, who had moved the resolution against foreign and domestic players entering the retail shortly after TMC withdrew support to the UPA government, said "if these domestic players wanted to set up more stores in the state, then the government would see whether they were keen to sell vegetables and groceries only".

Under the existing formats of these stores, vegetables and groceries are sold in a separate department and other items like apparel and other household items also sold.