India will be easing mandatory local sourcing norms for FDI in single brand retail trading in the next few weeks, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. "India has opened up opportunities for single-brand-retail and is easing some detrimental clauses of the policy in next-few-weeks which will help single brand retail come in a-bigger-way to the country," an official statement said quoting the minister.

The smartphone market in India grew 14.5% in 2018 with shipment of 142.3 million units, as per research firm IDC. During the December quarter, smartphone shipment expanded 19.5 per cent year-on-year to 36.3 million units from 30.3 million units in the same period the previous year, driven primarily by multiple rounds of sales by e-tailers beyond the festive Diwali period lasting into December.

Global FDI fell 19 percent last year to an estimated $1.2 trillion, largely caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tax reforms, the United Nations trade and development agency UNCTAD said. FDI, comprising cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), intra-company loans and investment in start-up projects abroad, is a bellwether of globalisation and a potential sign of growth of corporate supply chains and future trade ties.