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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.

Ex ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra appointed to EAC-PM

  • PTI
  • Mar 26
  • 2 min read

ree

New Delhi: Former ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra had been appointed by the Union government as a full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).


Mishra, 65, served as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief till September 15, 2023 after the Supreme Court curtailed his extended tenure following petitions filed against multiple extensions granted to him by the government.


A government order issued on Tuesday said Mishra, a 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Income Tax cadre, will serve as a full-time member of the EAC-PM following approval of his appointment by the prime minister.


The order added Mishra has been appointed in the rank and pay of secretary to the government of India, from the date of assumption of post, as per usual terms and conditions as are applicable to re-employed government officials.


The EAC-PM is an "independent" body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the government of India, specifically to the prime minister. Its current chairman is economist Suman Berry.


A vacancy arose in the body following the death of its former chairman Bibek Debroy in November, 2024.


The ED, during Mishra's tenure, probed a number of high-profile people and politicians, including the first family of the Congress like Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi apart from multiple chief ministers, ministers, MLAs and MPs under the criminal provisions of the anti-money laundering law which drew criticism from opposition parties that the agency was a "tool" and was acting at the behest of the Centre that is being ruled by the BJP.


He was appointed ED director in October, 2018 and had the second longest tenure of five years as the agency head. ED's first director A M Chatterjee had the longest tenure of nearly 7.5 years between 1957 and 1965. The Union government had elevated Mishra to the secretary rank while he headed the ED, an additional secretary post as per existing government policy.


Mishra has served in the Income-Tax Department across various charges apart from the Union home ministry.


It was during Mishra's tenure that the ED got deported VIP choppers case accused and British national Christian Michel apart from another prime suspect Rajiv Saxena to India while extradition proceedings were secured against economic fugitives like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Sanjay Bhandari.

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