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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.

Making records in Nanded

Nanded

For the devout and travel buffs, Nanded is the site of a beautiful Gurudwara and several sufi shrines but for political watchers, it’s the region that gave Maharashtra it’s first and, until now, only father-son duo to become the chief ministers of Maharashtra. Shankarrao Chavan served as the chief minister twice while his son Ashok Chavan was Maharashtra’s chief minister between 2008 and 2010. Shankarrao’s term as the CM coincided with the Emergency of 1975 and it was publicly known that the Maharashtra CM had to seek an appointment with Sanjay Gandhi to be able to meet the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.


In his illustrious career, Shankarrao was elected to the Rajya Sabha and served as union minister for home, defence and finance. He’s credited with setting up several educational institutes in Nanded from where his political career flourished. With his political influence and educational empire, the Chavan family wielded considerable clout over the politics of the region and were responsible for spreading the Congress party in this part of Marathwada.


His son Ashok followed him into the Congress and served as minister in various departments including the CM’s post. His party forced him to resign in 2010 over corruption charges for his alleged role in the Adarsh Housing Society controversy.


The electorate remained unaffected by the allegations and Chavan won the 2014 general elections but lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to a BJP candidate. In a surprise turn of events, Chavan joined the BJP in February 2024 allegedly on the heels of an impending inquiry against him in the Adarsh matter.


The Chavan family is deeply entrenched in public life. Chavan’s wife Ameeta contested the 2014 legislative assembly elections from Bhokar when he vacated that seat after getting elected to the Lok Sabha.


His brother-in-law Bhaskarrao Bapurao Khatgaonkar Patil has been a three-time Member of Parliament and has also served in the Maharashtra legislative assembly.


The third generation of the Chavan family is now set to enter politics as Ashok’s daughter Shreejaya being given the candidature by the BJP for the coveted Bhokar seat which has been held by the Congress for several years since the 1950s.

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