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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.

Pager Blasts: A Global Threat?

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Pager Blasts

Imagine ending your day, exhausted, but pausing before using your phone, laptop, or car radio. In Lebanon, such hesitation is now part of daily life. A new wave of terror – reportedly triggered by Israel in its relentless campaign to cripple Hezbollah - has shaken the country, with explosive devices embedded in pagers, walkie-talkies, and even solar cells. The devastation is staggering: over 30 dead and nearly 3,000 injured. This is a conflict not fought with drones or tanks, but with the very electronics that power modern life.

The scale and sophistication of these attacks suggest a well-calculated strategy aimed at spreading fear and chaos. While the immediate target is Hezbollah, the potential for this digital warfare to spread beyond Lebanon is a terrifying prospect. As nations like Iran, Syria, and other anti-Israel forces watch with alarm, the world is left asking: is anyone safe from this new form of electronic sabotage?

What began as an isolated conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could have far-reaching consequences. The attacks on electronic devices, now a critical part of daily life, have sparked fears that the entire supply chain - spanning from manufacturers in Taiwan and Japan to retail outlets worldwide - may become tainted. Consumers, already jittery from rising global tensions, could begin to shy away from the very products that keep the world connected.

The implications are clear - a decline in consumer trust, economic shockwaves, and a scramble to implement expensive screening technologies across global markets. Yet the fear of such attacks going mainstream is what truly haunts policymakers. Israel and Hezbollah are not the only adversaries with deep-seated rivalries. With tensions simmering between Russia and Ukraine, China and its neighbours in Southeast Asia, and even India and Pakistan, it is not hard to imagine this new form of electronic sabotage becoming a favoured tactic in global conflicts.

India, with its large population and dependency on imported electronics, is particularly vulnerable. Consider the fact that a vast portion of the world’s consumer electronics are made in China - a country with which India has an uneasy relationship. Moreover, Pakistan, which has long sought to destabilize India, could see this as an opportunity to stir chaos, possibly with support from other regional players like China or Turkey.

The potential for widespread harm is clear. India has been no stranger to terrorist attacks, from the 2006 Mumbai train bombings to the 26/11 attacks. And while the country has developed a robust defence against conventional terror, the emerging threat of electronic sabotage demands new, preventive measures. If India is to avoid disaster, advanced detection systems will need to be implemented across the country - at ports, airports, and even consumer electronics stores. This will undoubtedly add costs, but in a world where electronic warfare could become the new norm, the investment is a small price to pay.

As nations worldwide grapple with the implications of Israel’s latest campaign against Hezbollah, one thing is certain: the old rules of war no longer apply. With the ability to turn everyday electronics into weapons, this digital conflict is reshaping the global security landscape. Nations will need to rethink how they approach security, trade, and diplomacy in an era where any device could be a Trojan horse.

For Lebanon, the immediate aftermath is grim: a country on edge, citizens afraid of their own devices. But the rest of the world, too, must confront the unsettling reality that digital sabotage is no longer a far-off possibility. It is here to stay, and is a threat that no nation can afford to ignore.

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