Chain to open in 70 cities
Reliance Retail, an offshoot of Mumbai-based conglomerate Reliance Industries, has broken into the Indian retail sector with the opening of 11 stores in Hyderabad.

The shops aim to bring 'high-quality fresh food at an affordable price,' according to Reliance head of food Gunender Kapur.

The launch comes as part of a US$5 billion (£2.63 billion) project planned for more than 780 Indian cities and 6,000 rural towns over the next five years.

India's retail sector is traditionally made up of small, family-run businesses. Reliance's offensive is the first significant foray into the retail food market in India this year. International retail chains, such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco, have yet to compete.

The company will open stores in the top 70 cities - such as India's capital New Delhi, financial centre Mumbai, and technology capital Bangalore - within the next two years.

Reliance's move has generated much interest across India, the world's second most populated nation, at a time when the country's economy is booming.

Reliance Retail president of operations and strategy Raghu Pillai said: 'Retail market size in the country today is US$300 billion (£158.02 billion) and growing. We want to do US$25 billion (£13.17 billion) of business in five years - and this will not be capturing the full growth.'