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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.

Railways launches internal probe

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Mumbai: The Ministry of Railways is understood to have initiated a full-fledged probe into the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) financial indiscretions and squandering money on certain dubious expenses.

 

Official sources indicated how the IRCTC’s recent admission of splurging a staggering Rs 2,619-crore only for “the upkeep, maintenance and running of the website”, blew up a storm in the monolithic railways - with speculation of further repercussions in coming days.

 

The sources declined to reveal the details of the officers conducting the investigation and whether any deadline has been set for it – amid speculation of further repercussions in the coming days.

 

The amount collected as ‘Convenience Fees’ - as per a RTI reply given to Pune businessman Prafful Sarda – was shown as spent in the past three years and the issue was first highlighted by The Perfect Voice (May 17).

 

The Nagpur-based consumer body, Council for Protection of Rights (CPR) President Barr. Vinod Tiwari petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and others, seeking probes by the ED, CBI, SEBI, CAG, Vigilance Department, etc. into the blatant goings-on in the IRCTC.

 

As per fresh information available, in the past three years the IRCTC earned a whopping Rs. 2,302.52 crore via online ticket bookings of which Rs.351-crore was collected as GST.

 

“This amounts to an ‘online extortion’ of the masses and goes absolutely contrary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Digital India’. Earning the money through blind levies has turned the whole thing into a potential mega-scam. The government should hold the Railway Minister, IRCTC and Railway Board accountable for this major lapse,” demanded Sarda.

 

The CPR chief pointed out that almost one-third (30.33%) of IRCTC’s income came solely through Internet ticketing as per its Annual Report (2023-2024), plus the consumers have to cough out GST and other hidden UPI charges, etc.

 

“Since this has become ‘monopolistic’, the government must award the online ticketing to a suitable company through a transparent competitive bidding process. Moreover, steps should be taken to levy maximum Re. 1/- per online/digital transaction in public interest by any/all entities. Otherwise, what is the use of going online,” asked Tiwari.

 

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