PMO refuses sharing information on meeting with Walmart lobbyists

The move came after Parliament was informed by the government that it would probe the issue of Walmart having lobbied hard before the US lawmakers for access to lucrative Indian retail market.

Lobbying is legal in the US and many other countries, where companies concerned and their registered lobbyists need to make quarterly disclosures about such activities. However, India has no such guidelines in place.

Unlike US, lobbying is an offence in India. For long, American leaders and companies have maintained there's nothing illegal about lobbying in the US and disclosures on lobbying activities and expenditure are mandatory in that country.