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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.

Thrust on Rural Schemes

Prime Minister

Just a year ago, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched 511 Pramod Mahajan Grameen Kaushalya Vikas Kendras in Maharashtra via video conferencing. Established across 34 rural districts of Maharashtra, these Kendras will conduct skill development training programs across various sectors to provide employment opportunities to rural youth. While launching this scheme the Prime Minister said, this is a huge step for the skill development of millions of youth making this day a memorable one.


While announcing this scheme the state government declared that the Grameen Kaushalya Vikas Kendras will conduct skill development training programs across various sectors to provide employment opportunities to rural youth. Each Kendra will train about 100 youngsters in at least two vocational courses. The training will be provided by empanelled industry partners and agencies under the National Skill Development Council. The establishment of these Kendras will help the region attain significant strides towards developing a more competent and skilled manpower.


Prior to this there were no skill development centers in 28,000 gram panchayats (village councils) in Maharashtra. The plan is aligned with the Indian government’s vision for skill development. The increase in the number of such skill development centers will prevent rural youth from migrating to cities in search of employment opportunities. This initiative, to be executed by the Skill Development Society, which. aims to enhance employability for individuals aged 15 to 45 by establishing 100 new skill development centers across the state. The initiative aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent inauguration of 511 Skill Development Centers simultaneously—the first of its kind in India. The upcoming 100 centers, set to launch in the new year, will expedite the creation of a skilled generation in Maharashtra. Colleges hosting these centers will have the autonomy to select courses tailored for local employment needs, ensuring alignment with the National Skill Qualification Framework.


Emphasizing the need for new skills for India’s agriculture sector, the Prime Minister pushed for natural farming to protect Mother Earth. During this event, he talked about the need for skills to assess balanced irrigation, agricultural-product processing, packaging, branding, and skilling people to get connected with the online world. “Various governments of the country will have to further expand their scope of skill development”, Prime Minister Modi had added.


Excellent scheme, much hyped and published by the Mahayuti government, remains today on paper. Series of meetings took place in the Skill Development department. Challenges faced in setting up 511 centers were reviewed and discussed. In one of the meetings it was also decided that the government officials should take the inspection instead of private organisations. Government is spending 13,000 crore rupees on this and in Maharashtra, 500 plus skill centers will take forward this skill development program in the state.

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