France's Carrefour, the world's second-biggest retailer, plans to set up a wholesale business in India on it own after failing to get local partners, the Economic Times said on Monday, quoting unidentified sources.

The French firm had decided to focus on cash-and-carry model as it did not want to depend on whims and fancies of any Indian partner and wanted to avoid opposition from political parties and groups, the newspaper said.

Fearing loss of livelihood, traders, farmers and small shopkeepers oppose plans by foreign and local companies to introduce western-style supermarts into India's fragmented $350 billion market expected to double in size by 2015. Foreign multiple-brand retailers are limited to cash-and-carry and franchise or licence operations in India.

Quoting an industry source, the paper said, Carrefour was going ahead with a wholly owned subsidiary and had begun recruitment at senior levels.

Operations are likely to start only by the fourth quarter of next year or early-2009, the paper said.

(Reporting by Hiral Vora; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

India