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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.

Names of 10k genuine voters deleted in each constituency, alleges MVA

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Names of 10k genuine voters deleted in each constituency, alleges MVA

Mumbai: Leaders of the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi on Saturday accused the BJP of deleting names of at least 10,000 genuine voters from each constituency in Maharashtra in the run-up to the November 20 assembly polls.


Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule was part of the conspiracy to delete the names of bonafide voters and get bogus names, including those from other states, added to the electoral roll.


“The conspiracy to delete at least 10,000 names from each constituency has been exposed. We will create awareness among people and, if needed, will lead a protest march to the election office with those whose names have been deleted,” Raut said.


Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, who was also present during this media interaction, said the MVA has met the state’s chief electoral officer.


The opposition will also send a detailed mail on the matter to the Election Commission of India, Patole added.


“Out of fear of losing the assembly polls, names of original voters are being deleted. Names of bogus voters from other states are being included. Some officials are hand in glove with the BJP in this. People of Maharashtra will not tolerate it if the ECI does not conduct assembly polls in a transparent manner,” Patole said.


He alleged the voters whose names have been deleted belong to particular castes and religion.

Speaking on the issue, NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said the MVA has found that names of original voters, who cast their franchise in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, have been deleted in Shirdi, Chandrapur, Arvi, Kamptee, Kothrud, Gondia, Akola East, Chikhli, Nagpur, Kankavli, Khamgaon, Chimur and Dhamangaon Railway assembly seats.


Meanwhile, Patole also asked why the ECI cannot remove Maharashtra Director General of Police (Rashmi Shukla) for the sake of fair and free polls when it has taken such a step in poll-bound Jharkhand.

The ECI on Saturday directed the Jharkhand government to remove the state’s Acting Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta from his post with immediate effect due to a “history” of complaints against him in previous elections.

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