Trade and commerce organisations staged a protest here today against foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's retail sector.

Over 300 office bearers of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI), Jammu Computer Dealers Association (JCDA) and other trade organisations organised the protest in Jammu City, where they raised anti-government and anti-FDI slogans.

"We demand that the government of India should not give permission to FDI in retail in the country. We are concerned over the government policy over FDI," JCDA President Arvind Koul told reporters here.

"Allowing FDI in retail within the country and permitting multi-national and foreign companies to open their sale outlets for consumer items in the country is going to adversely affect the business interest of the local trading community," he said.

Koul assailed the government over its study of the proposal to allow foreign direct investment in the direct retail sector, arguing that "over 25 crore people earning a livelihood from small businesses and trade would be affected".

Koul said that the proposal to relax FDI controls in the retail sector was causing great discontent and anxiety to local wholesale and retail traders, as it will result in more unemployment.

"It will hit hard their business interest and in many cases, force a large number of them to wind up their shows and snatch their means of earning and livelihood. This will render jobless and snatch livelihood of lakhs of families in the state as a whole," he said.

Koul said experience had shown that when the government had first allowed foreign multi-national companies to enter the manufacturing space in India, the local industry was badly affected. He asserted that in the name of economic reforms and globalisation, the government was now going to take another step that would hurt the local business community.