51%  FDI in single brand retailing allowed
Indian policy makers have permitted single brand retailing in joint ventures with Indian firms, to the extent of a 51 per cent partnership through the FDI route. In response to that the domestic organized retail sector has attracted many multinational companies such as Wal-mart, Metro AG, Shoprite Holdings, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Starbucks, and Target. At the regulatory front, presently, FDI is completely prohibited in multi-brand Retail

Retail Policy in India
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the extent of 100 per cent in Cash and Carry Wholesale formats. Franchisee arrangements are also permitted in retail trade.
Single Brand Products: FDI upto 51 per cent is permissible in the retail trade of single brand products subject to the following conditions such as Products to be sold should be of a 'Single Brand' only,Products should be sold under the same brand internationally,'Single Brand' product retailing would cover only products, which are branded during manufacturing.

Mode of Entry into Retail Market by Foreign retailers
The following modes of entry into the Indian retail market are possible.
Direct import through appointing distributors
Licensing - Van heusen,Levis,Lee,Arrow 
Joint Ventures/Tie-ups –Wool worth with Tata Group,Wal-Mart with Bharti
Franchising     - PizzaHut, Dommio’s,Mark&Spencers, Cookieman
Direct 100% Company in India – Coca cola,Pepsi,Nestle

96% of the retail market is unorganized in India- A Good Potential

India will be among the top five economies in the world by 2025 and no marketer can afford to miss out on the India opportunity. India will be the fifth largest consuming market in the world by 2025.Organised retail is still in its infancy with only 4% penetration level as compared to 80% in USA and 20% in China.Food sales to cross US$ 250billion this year. The growth drivers of organized retail in the country are growing consumerism, the Government stance to boost organized retail, and the availability of quality manpower, infrastructure and technology. The growing consumerism in the country is a boon for retailers. The consumer preferences started changing from value for money to value for time convenience (home delivery), from over the counter to touch and feel, increased processed food consumption.
The Indian retail market, which is the fifth largest retail destination globally, according to industry estimates is estimated to grow from the present US$ 330 billion  to US$ 427 billion by 2010 and US$ 637 billion by 2015. Simultaneously, modern retail is likely to increase its share in the total retail market to 22 per cent by 2010 from the current 4%. Organized retail segment has been growing at a blistering pace, exceeding all previous estimates. The fastest growing segments have been the wholesale cash and carry stores (150 per cent) followed by supermarkets (100 per cent) and hypermarkets (75-80 per cent). The 96% of the retail market is controlled by the unorganized sector which presents a good potential for retailers to tap the unorganized retail market in India