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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Festive Surge

India’s bazaars have glittered this Diwali with the unmistakable glow of consumer confidence. The country’s festive sales crossed a staggering Rs. 6 lakh crore with goods alone accounting for Rs. 5.4 lakh crore and services contributing Rs. 65,000 crore. More remarkable still, the bulk of this spending flowed through India’s traditional markets rather than e-commerce platforms. After years of economic caution and digital dominance, Indians are once again shopping in person and buying local....

Festive Surge

India’s bazaars have glittered this Diwali with the unmistakable glow of consumer confidence. The country’s festive sales crossed a staggering Rs. 6 lakh crore with goods alone accounting for Rs. 5.4 lakh crore and services contributing Rs. 65,000 crore. More remarkable still, the bulk of this spending flowed through India’s traditional markets rather than e-commerce platforms. After years of economic caution and digital dominance, Indians are once again shopping in person and buying local. This reversal owes much to policy. The recent rationalisation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which trimmed rates across categories from garments to home furnishings, has given consumption a timely push. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s September rate cuts, combined with income tax relief and easing interest rates, have strengthened household budgets just as inflation softened. The middle class, long squeezed between rising costs and stagnant wages, has found reason to spend again. Retailers report that shoppers filled their bags with everything from lab-grown diamonds and casual wear to consumer durables and décor, blurring the line between necessity and indulgence. The effect has been broad-based. According to Crisil Ratings, 40 organised apparel retailers, who together generate roughly a third of the sector’s revenue, could see growth of 13–14 percent this financial year, aided by a 200-basis-point bump from GST cuts alone. Small traders too have flourished. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) estimates that 85 percent of total festive trade came from non-corporate and traditional markets, a robust comeback for brick-and-mortar retail that had been under siege from online rivals. This surge signals a subtle but significant cultural shift. The “Vocal for Local” and “Swadeshi Diwali” campaigns struck a patriotic chord, with consumers reportedly preferring Indian-made products to imported ones. Demand for Chinese goods fell sharply, while sales of Indian-manufactured products rose by a quarter over last year. For the first time in years, “buying Indian” has become both an act of economic participation and of national pride. The sectoral spread of this boom underlines its breadth. Groceries and fast-moving consumer goods accounted for 12 percent of the total, gold and jewellery 10 percent, and electronics 8 percent. Even traditionally modest categories like home furnishings, décor and confectionery recorded double-digit growth. In the smaller towns that anchor India’s consumption story, traders say stable prices and improved affordability kept registers ringing late into the festive weekend. Yet, much of this buoyancy rests on a fragile equilibrium. Inflation remains contained, and interest rates have been eased, but both could tighten again. Sustaining this spurt will require continued fiscal prudence and regulatory clarity, especially as digital commerce continues to expand its reach. Yet for now, the signs are auspicious. After years of subdued demand and inflationary unease, India’s shoppers appear to have rediscovered their appetite for consumption and their faith in domestic enterprise. The result is not only a record-breaking Diwali, but a reaffirmation of the local marketplace as the heartbeat of India’s economy.

All Eyes on Uddhav’s Show

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Uddhav

After an almost lost legal battle to regain control over party and with allies who are reluctant to project him as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the alliance, Uddhav Thackeray is all set to fight the do-or-die battle of his political career in this assembly election. The question remains whether he will be able to shed the image of an incompetent CM and repeat the charisma he shown in 2014.


After BJP under Narendra Modi swept the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the results of Maharashtra assembly had become clear and Uddhav Thackeray had sensed that his party stands a good chance to get a bigger share in power. The state BJP was trying to shed its ‘younger brother’ image within the alliance, which didn’t go well with Shiv Sena and both the parties contested assembly polls independently. That was the first assembly election when Bal Thackeray was not there to guide the party. Uddhav’s strategy to severe ties with the BJP won 63 MLA to his party and his leadership was established in the state politics in real sense. If he is able to repeat a similar performance this time, his chances of ruling the Maharashtra once again would be very high. But, if he couldn’t do it that might mark an end to his political career.


In 2014 Uddhav reluctantly allowed his party to join the BJP government under Devendra Fadnavis, but kept criticizing the government over an array of issues including the Metro 3 car shed at Aarey. Ultimately in 2019 he walked out of the alliance over the issue of rotational chief ministership. The Congress and NCP, for whom chances to get back to power were meek, sensed a chance and made Uddhav head the coalition government. Though much of next two and half years of his tenure as chief minister were wasted due to COVID-related restrictions, his government came under heavy fire for corruption from the outside, by opposition BJP, and for not following Hindutva agenda, from within, by likes of Eknath Shinde and others.


Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to resign without going in for floor test came under heavy criticism from all sides. However, he was undeterred. “In a democracy, heads are counted to show numbers. I am not interested in that. I don’t want to play these games,” he said tendering his resignation to the governor in June 2022. While many interpret this as his unwillingness to accept challenges and fight fiercely, others feel that this shows his different style, where he would think over the situation and meticulously plan the micro strategy to overcome the adversity.


If the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) performs well in the assembly polls, it would bolster the party’s claims of being the only inheritor of Bal Thackeray’s legacy. However, the challenges are huge.

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