Walmart Stores is appointing Murali Lanka, an executive at its US business, chief operations officer of its Indian unit, according to two company officials familiar with the matter. Lanka will lead store operations, sales, business development and marketing, and report to India chief executive officer Krish Iyer, said the people, who asked not to be named as they aren't authorised to comment on the matter. The move marks a return to India for Lanka, who had been part of the founding team at WalMart's joint venture with billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Enterprises before it broke up last year, a blow to the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer's expansion plans in the world's second-most populous nation.

Read the Economic Times news report here.