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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.

From Wheel to Window Seat: The Surprising Perks of Public Transit

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Public Transit

Seven years ago, I migrated to the city of dreams and settled down in Thane. After traveling regularly to south Mumbai for an initial period, since last one year I had been driving my XUV700 to the Kandivali office of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited. While my car, renowned for its smooth drive, helped me cover the distance, the relentless traffic and poor road conditions slowly eroded the pleasure—and even began to impact my health. The city’s inadequate road infrastructure, compounded by sluggish Metro construction, has been a glaring problem for years, with improvements seeming to rest on road developments from the era of Nitin Gadkari over two decades ago.


In the last several years, several startups have introduced business models that provide comfortable commuting solutions and have gained popularity amongst the daily office commuters. Compared to cab-aggregator services like Ola or Uber, these solutions are less expensive and more comfortable. I have been travelling through Cityflo bus service for the past one month to avoid traffic hassles. This realignment was done to overcome the extra fatigue and was not a calculated call much thought about. Surprisingly this change turned out to be a blessing in disguise to me.


Travelling by bus has added to my daily travel time and I had to realign my morning routine to ensure that I start early by at least 15 minutes to catch the bus. It was never an easy task for me as it demanded efficient time management. Further I did not want to compromise on my vital morning rituals like my physical workout, newspaper read and daily puja.


My first two travel days were altogether boring as I had no task to keep myself engaged while traveling. My inability to read the financial daily Business Standard was long haunting me. Suddenly I realized that I have created a sweet spot for myself to fulfill this task. Within a couple of days, occupying my seat and reading Business Standard became my standard protocol during my office travel.


This has facilitated increased academic awareness and enhanced engagements in office discussions on contemporary topics. This routine has helped me reframe my travel time into a valued pocket for learning and reflection. By nightfall, I trade the reading light for audio content, engaging with scholars like Dr. Vikram Sampath and J. Sai Deepak, or enjoying the music of legends like Lata Mangeshkar and Pt. Hari Prasad Chourasia. The adjustment has transformed my commute into a restorative experience, and my family has also noted the positive change.


All these days I struggled to find quality time to pursue my interests, but public transportation ensured that I was left with a couple of hours each day for my own well-being. Assuming that on a third of the occasions I still opt to drive, this still translates into 40 productive working man-days on an annualized basis, which would facilitate productive engagement to pursue my own interests.


That reminds me of a famous quote by Colombian President Gustavo Petro that “a developed country is not a place where the poor own cars, but where the rich people use public transport.” I am not sure what had prompted him to say so, but there is certainly an essence in what he has quoted. Developed countries are not just functions of higher Per Capita Income. Productive usage of resources, efficient time management by all the stakeholders, and higher happiness index of the common citizens go a long way in transforming the country into a developed nation. Effective time management and pursuit of personal passion play a key role in transforming individuals into an impactful performer. Reliable public infrastructure and efficient transportation also contribute to environmental sustainability. Altogether these changes, improve the quality of life, and result in enhanced economic power of the country. I unexpectedly realized that by opting to travel by public transportation, I am contributing towards the development of India.


(The author is a Chartered Accountant and works at Automotive Division of Mahindra and Mahindra Limited. Views personal.)

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