The upper house of India's parliament voted Friday to allow foreign direct investment in the supermarket sector, according to dpa. The government announced back in September it would permit global firms to buy up to a 51-per-cent stake in Indian companies such as department stores, prompting nationwide protests over feared job losses and an impact on shopkeepers and the domestic manufacturing sector. Global giants like WalMart Stores Inc and Tesco Plc have expressed an interest in entering India's lucrative 500-billion-dollar multi-brand retail sector but have been closely following political developments before committing investments. -- SPA
