The oil companies raised petrol prices by Rs 7.50 on Wednesday, a tough but unpopular decision which many see as a strong signal from the government that it's now stepping on the reform pedal.
Many of the retail chains, which have been on a silent mode for months, sent out feelers on Thursday that all was not lost on the FDI front.
In another indication that things could be moving, India head of French retail chain Carrefour SA, Jean Noel Bironneau met Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Thursday.
Carrefour is one of the chains waiting for the government's decision on FDI in multi-brand retail.
It is learnt that the Centre had not held any concrete dialogue with the 'stakeholders' except for state governments over the past six months since the Cabinet decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail was kept in abeyance.
Although there was a general expectation that the retail FDI talks would be revived after the Assembly elections held across five states earlier this year, nothing moved on that front.
However, Wednesday's petrol price hike is being seen by many as the government stepping up the reform measures.
The buzz in the Ministry of Finance is also that the government may once again weigh the options of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail.
The Cabinet decided to allow FDI in the sector on November 24, 2011, but within 10 days Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced in Parliament that the move would be put off due to resistance from allies and opposition parties.
Even though ministers continued to talk of opening up the retail sector in a phased manner in states, the industry had not taken that seriously in the last few months, a retail chain representative told Business Standard.
Also, a senior official at the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion,
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