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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.

Green Fuel and Shipping Corridors: India’s Chance to Shine

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Green Fuel and Shipping Corridors: India’s Chance to Shine

A large container ship consumes about 120 metric tonnes (MT) of fuel each day. This amount of fuel is equivalent to the daily energy needs of about 50,000 Indian homes. Shipping has been in the spotlight as a polluter since the Conference of Parties (COP)-16 in 2010. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the shipping industry are equal to Japan’s GHG emissions at around 3%, and as per the current trajectory, this is likely to increase to 4.5% by 2050.

Fast forward to five years, and COP-21 (2015), in its ‘zero emission shipping’, established these highly ambitious targets for the shipping industry to be achieved by 2030:

• Demonstrate commercially viable zero-emission ships.

• Make zero-emission fuel vessels the natural choice for ship owners.

• Build 20 ports with zero-emission carbon-neutral bunkering facilities.

• Ensure 600 large ships operate on well-to-wake carbon-neutral fuel. Well-to-wake refers to fuel extraction from the ‘well’ to the ship’s ‘wake’ when sailing.

• Crew safety is a priority on ammonia, hydrogen, and methanol-fuelled ships.

• Production of 16 million metric tonnes of zero-emission carbon-neutral fuels.

There are uncertainties about fuel carriage capacity, long-distance sailing, and safety concerns for seafarers since ammonia is emerging as the most promising carbon-neutral fuel for ships in the future.

Barring a few leading ship owners like Maersk and AET (Malaysia), most other shipping organisations are waiting and watching, hesitant to invest in dual or carbon-neutral-fuelled ships. This reluctance is primarily due to the high cost of retrofits, new designs, and increased operational expenses. On the supply side, green fuel providers are also holding back due to a lack of buyers, so the paradox with green fuel continues.


Green corridors for ships, and where is India?

Green shipping corridors are bunkering facilities established along shipping routes to supply carbon-neutral fuel at competitive international rates, with a minimum diversion in their sea passage. Ships that use liner services or fixed routes can opt for such green corridors. Ships on spot charter may still need the dual fuel option, since the trading areas may not have green corridors or green fuel bunkering facilities. Interestingly, the number of green corridors has increased significantly from 21 to 50 since the last year.

The Government of India has identified three ports for green ammonia bunkering. Paradip Port, located on the East Coast of India in Odisha; Deendayal Port, also known as Kandla Port, situated on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat; and V.O. Chidambaranar Port, located at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. How well are these ports positioned to become preferred green fuel bunkering options for ships passing through the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, whether eastbound or westbound?

Options such as Cochin at 10° North and Vizhinjam at 8.2° North are strategically located near the passage for East and Westbound vessels. Policymakers should explore whether and how the value chain of green fuel supply can be developed around main shipping trade routes, requiring virtually no diversion.

An equivalent to the BRICS partnership, Brazil’s CSN (Companhia Siderurgica Nacional Group), operates two terminals in Port Rio. They have signed for a green corridor with Port Sines in Portugal, which will cover the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean from south to north. Similarly, Adani’s Vizhinjam could join hands with Singapore for a green corridor.

The longitudinal stretch spanning 45 degrees in the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Bay of Bengal region from Aden, Yemen, to Bandar Aceh in Indonesia is about 12% of the entire globe’s surface area. The Indian Government must strategically capitalise on this maritime region where they have significant influence and establish a green corridor to become a dominant player. Without meticulous planning, expedited clearances, and expert involvement, India risks missing the boat and allowing ports like Colombo to gain upper hand.

(The writer is a Marine and Shipping consultant. Views personal.)

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