The official reason why multi brand retail is not allowed in India is that the ' kirana ' or corner stores will lose customers and suffer economic hardship. Which is the same as saying that these people should be allowed to fleece customers or else their standard of living will suffer. Presumably that is why criminal politicians and thieving civil servants are looting the country. In an article in the Sunday Times of India one Abheek Barman relates how he visited one such kirana store which claimed to serve 300 households. Assuming the average monthly spend of each family to be Rs. 15000 and a 30% profit margin he calculates that the owner of the store a whopping Rs. 18 million a year. None of these people pays any tax. The government cajoled them to pay a Minimum Alternative Tax of a paltry Rs. 1500 per year but no one did. They did not want to be in the books of the Income Tax fellows. Kiran stores operate in cash so all this money is black. Keeping so much cash at home would be dangerous so this money is invested in property. One paan fellow in South Delhi is reputed to own 4 houses each worth tens of millions of rupees. VAT was introduced to compel these fellows into paying tax but it seems that every manufacturing factory has a gate at the back through which to smuggle out and distribute untaxed products. Truck owners are usually paid in cash and rarely declare their income. Needless to say VAT inspectors, income tax fellows and the police are all taking their cut. Black money spreads easily. The housing price bubble is because politicians and civil servants have invested their black money in property and will do everything to keep prices up. Perhaps a collapse will help the economy.