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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.

PM Modi raised with Yunus India's concerns over safety of minorities in Bangladesh

  • PTI
  • Apr 4
  • 2 min read

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Bangkok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting with Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Friday underlined India's concerns over the safety of minorities, including Hindus, and conveyed the expectation that the Bangladeshi government would ensure their security, including by thoroughly investigating cases of atrocities against them.


The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping. It was their first meeting since the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year.


Briefing reporters on Modi's meeting with Yunus, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Modi underlined India's concerns related to the safety and security of minorities in Bangladesh including Hindus.


PM Modi expressed his expectation that the government of Bangladesh would ensure their security, including by thoroughly investigating all cases of atrocities against the minorities, Misri said at the media briefing.


During the meeting, PM Modi also urged that any rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided, the foreign secretary said.


Prime Minister Modi reiterated India's support for a democratic, stable, peaceful, progressive and inclusive Bangladesh.


"He underlined that India believed in a people-centric approach to the relationship and highlighted the cooperation between the two countries over a long period of time that has delivered tangible benefits to the people of both countries. In this spirit, he underlined to Professor Yunus India's desire to forge a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh based on a spirit of pragmatism," Misri said on the meeting.


During the meeting, the PM also talked about the border and the strict enforcement of the law and curbing illegal border crossings, especially at night for maintaining border security and stability.


Asked if Yunus raised the issue of the extradition of Hasina, Misri did not give a direct reply. He said it is not proper to talk about this issue at the moment and the ministry in the past has already said that it has received a request from Bangladesh.

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