Though some of the concerns are valid, The authors concerns seem true only for retailers looking at metropolitan areas. And the basic issue in India is that supply lags demand in every aspect. Once the cpacities are built it would force the policies to be changed to allow for the supply side to catch up. Look at telecom, when compnies got in at ridiculous license proces and started to build capacity, the investments forced the rules to change and become more business friendly and the sector thrives today with the struggle of the initial 5 years now having faded and a heady boom being seen. Also on real estate, for "low price" hypermarts- as is the case abroad- the volumes are not in downtown upmarket areas, but in middle and lower middle class areas. People will drive out of town to marts to get low deals. Most large Walmarts are in the suburbs and not in downtown, and the hypermart retail will grow in the small towns more than in the metro's where land and FSI are not as much of an issue.
