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By:

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.

Ceaseless Terror

Ceaseless Terror

The recent attack in Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir, where a doctor and six construction workers were killed, is a grim reminder of the region’s continuing struggle with terrorism. The assailants targeted a construction camp housing labourers working on a tunnel for the strategic Srinagar-Leh national highway, underscoring the vulnerability of civilians in conflict zones. This incident, the deadliest since the bus attack in Reasi in June which killed nine pilgrims, once again casts a shadow over the fragile stability in Kashmir, particularly in the wake of its new administrative setup following the abrogation of Article 370.


But while political leaders, from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to opposition figures like Mehbooba Mufti, rush to condemn the act, their statements highlight a persistent challenge: despite numerous security efforts, militants continue to strike soft civilian targets with chilling precision.


The attack came at a time when the government had hoped that the new administrative order in Kashmir, coupled with heavy investments in infrastructure projects like the Srinagar-Leh tunnel, would mark the beginning of a new chapter for the region. Instead, the death of the workers, many of whom had come from other states in search of better livelihoods, reflects a disturbing trend. Civilians —particularly non-locals — have increasingly become pawns in the militant groups’ strategy to create fear and disrupt efforts to normalise life in the region. This year alone has seen four major attacks specifically targeting migrant workers, making it clear that these groups intend to stir communal divisions and deter economic development.


The motives behind such attacks are manifold. First, there is a clear frustration on the part of the militants. The security forces, despite being stretched across the dense forests of Ganderbal and other difficult terrains, have made significant inroads, reducing the capacity of these groups to strike at hardened military targets. Attacking unarmed civilians, then, becomes their grim fallback option. Targeting construction workers also strikes at the heart of Kashmir’s development agenda, disrupting projects that promise to enhance connectivity, spur economic growth and draw Kashmir closer to the rest of India.


With the political environment still fragile, each such attack threatens to set back efforts to bring stability to the region. In the end, what is most tragic is the human cost. A doctor and six non-local workers who came to earn a living lost their lives in a conflict not of their making.


The perpetrators of such attacks may aim to destabilise the region, but their actions only strengthen the resolve of those who seek peace and progress. The challenge for the newly formed government now is to convert that resolve into action, ensuring that such attacks do not deter the march toward a more peaceful and prosperous Jammu & Kashmir. The government also needs to send out a strong message that innocent lives cannot be continued to be used as ‘collateral damage’ in a battle for the soul of Kashmir.

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