Wal-Mart's India dream may lie in tatters with the government intending to put Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the backburner. The government may now rely on domestic entrepreneurs such as Reliance, Bharti and Pantaloon for modernising the retail sector in the country, instead of seeking foreign investments, reports The Economic Times.

The government's shift in thinking, reflected in the Approach Paper to the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12), is believed to have been spurred by a section of the ruling Congress party joining their allies, the Left, in opposing FDI in retail.

The Approach Paper is silent on the issue of FDI in retail, which is significant, because the Planning Commission had made a strong case for it in its mid-term appraisal of the Tenth Five Year Plan.

The government is prepared to allow international retail major only into the cash and carry wholesale trading route, where 100% FDI is allowed.