A day after the Supreme Court sought the government’s response on the safeguards in place to protect small traders from the arrival of FDI in multi-brand retail, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma Wednesday said that “all institutions should respect the constitutional demarcation between the executive, legislation and judiciary”.

The Indian economy is passing through “a difficult phase” currently and it is important to “retain the trust and confidence of foreign investors in the country’s investment regime”, Sharma, who is in Davos to attend the annual World Economic Forum, said in a statement issued by his ministry in New Delhi.