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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.

Shinde beats Uddhav in 36 seats, loses in 14

Eknath Shinde

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has trounced rival Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray in 36 assembly seats in Maharashtra, putting to rest the debate over which is the real party founded by late Bal Thackeray.


Shinde's Sena, a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, won 57 of the 81 seats it contested in the state polls, the results of which were announced on Saturday.


The Sena (UBT), a partner in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), managed to bag only 20 despite fielding 95 candidates. In 14 seats, it defeated Shiv Sena candidates.


In one of his biggest political gambles, Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership in June 2022 and aligned with the BJP along with his backers to become the chief minister. The move split the Sena, led to the collapse of the Thackeray-led MVA government and sparked almost daily bickerings between the two factions.


Subsequently, Shinde got the party name and its ‘bow-and-arrow' symbol from the Election Commission.


Shinde had retained most of the sitting MLAs, who chose to be with him when he led the rebellion two years ago. They delivered for him on Saturday when votes for the state polls were counted.


Minister Abdul Sattar defeated Suresh Bankar in Sillod. Pradeep Jaiswal, who fought against Balasaheb Thorat, was the winner in Aurangabad Central.


Sanjay Shirsat beat Raju Shinde in Aurangabad West seat, while Vilas Bhumre came on top in his fight against Dattatrey Gorde in Paithan.


Chandrakant Sonawane, who replaced his wife and sitting MLA Lata Sonawane, defeated Prabhakar Sonawane of Sena (UBT) in Chopda.

Sanjana Jadhav trounced Udaysing Rajput in Kannad, while Sanjay Bangar emerged victorious against Santosh Tarfe in Kalamnuri.


Ganesh Dhatrak was bested by Suhas Kande in Nandgaon. Dada Bhuse defeated Prashant Hiray in Malegaon outer.


In the tribal-dominated Palghar constituency, Rajendra Gavit beat Jayendra Dubla.


In Bhiwandi rural of Thane district, where CM Shinde holds sway, Shantaram More of his party defeated Uddhav's man Mahadev Ghatal.


Vishwas Bhoir vanquished Sachin Basare in Kalyan West, while Pratap Sarnaik defeated Naresh Manera in Ovla Majiwada in Thane city.


Shinde himself registered a massive victory in his Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat, defeating Kedar Dighe by a margin of 1.2 lakh votes.


Prakash Surve trounced Udesh Patekar In Magathane, while Ashok Patil vanquished Ramesh Korgaonkar in Bhandup West.


Murji Patel, who had earlier lost to Rutuja Latke in Andheri East, bounced back as the winner. Tukaram Kate defeated Prakash Phaterpekar in Chembur. Both Latke and Phatarpekar were sitting MLAs who had stayed with Uddhav.


Bharat Gogawale got more votes than Snehal Jagtap to bag the Mahad seat, while Shambhuraj Desai trounced Bhanupratap Kadam in Patan.

In coastal Dapoli, Yogesh Kadam defeated Sanjay Kadam.

Minister Uday Samant won against Bal Mane in Ratnagiri, while Kiran Samant beat sitting MLA Rajan Salvi in Rajapur.


Nilesh Rane, who switched from BJP to Shiv Sena before the polls, defeated sitting MLA Vaibhav Naik in Kudal. In Sawantwadi near Goa, Deepak Kesarkar got the best of Rajan Teli. Prakash Abitkar defeated KP Patil in Radhanagari.


The Sena (UBT) won against the Shiv Sena in 14 seats.


In Mehkar, Rambhau Kharat defeated Shiv Sena's Sanjay Bhaskar Raymulkar, while Nitin Bhikanrao Deshmukh was the winner in Balapur. Shiv Sena's Bhagwan Siraskar came third.


Sunil Raut defeated Suvarna Karanje in Vikhroli and his Sena (UBT) colleague Anant Nar was the winner in Jogeshwari West after a face-off with Manisha Waikar.


Sunil Prabhu defeated Sanjay Nirupam in Dindoshi. Mahesh Sawant beat Sada Sarvankar in Mahim.


Uddhav Thackeray's son and former state minister Aaditya Thackeray retained his Worli seat by defeating Milind Deora, who recently joined the Shiv Sena from Congress.


Manoj Jamsutkar defeated Yamini Jadhav in Byculla.


The vote share of the Sena (UBT) was 9.96 per cent compared to Shiv Sena's 12.38 per cent.

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