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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.

Tycoon who revamped an Indian conglomerate to a global might

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Tycoon

From working on the shop floor of Tata Steel in 1961 after graduating in architecture to becoming its chairman and later on the group chairman, the doyen of Indian industry -- Ratan Tata during his tenure grew the India-centric conglomerate – Tata Group into a global force to reckon with.


Before he joined the helm of affairs at the Tata group, its revenue was by and large coming from commodities, but he had the foresight to grow the group inorganically by acquiring global brands with Tata Tea, Tata Motors and Tata Steel acquiring Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover and Corus, respectively.


All of his inorganic initiatives bore fruit as close to 50 percent of Tata group’s revenue of USD 165 billion now come from global operations.


During his tenure as the group chairman from 1991-2012, the group exited ACC – the cement commodity business despite being profitable to pursue global acquisition while listing TCS in 2004 that fueled growth and derived dividends for the group’s philanthropic initiatives.


In 2008, he fulfilled his promise to offer the world’s cheapest car – Tata Nano at a price tag of Rs 1 lakh, affordable to the Indian middle class and a mark of innovation.


His vision about acquiring companies not only brought about his financial acumen with respect to large global brands and conglomerates, but also about investing in start-ups including Snapdeal, Paytm, Ola, Cardekho, FirstCry, Lenskart, Nestaway, Urban Ladder, Urban Company, Generic Aadhaar among several others.


Born in Mumbai in December 1937 and completing his primary schooling within the city, Ratan Tata was adopted into the Tata family.  He later enrolled in Cornell University from which he graduated with a degree in architecture in 1959.


“….he was a businessman for whom financial wealth and success was most useful when it was put to the service of the global community,” said industrialist Anand Mahindra in his tweet.


As a staunch supporter of education, healthcare and rural development, Ratan Tata – the philanthropist supported University of New South Wales faculty of engineering to develop capacitive deionization in order to provide quality water for challenging areas.


He funded several initiatives for genetics, biological and physical sciences to foster collaboration and innovation among researchers to address infectious diseases including gene editing stem cell therapy and the need for sustainable food sources.


Post retirement, he led a very modest life living in Colaba in South Mumbai with his two dogs – Tito (German Shepherd) and Tango (Golden Retriever) but continued to leave a lasting legacy as a corporate and philanthropic citizen.


In the year 2000, Ratan Tata was recognized with third highest civilian honour – Padma Bhushan and with second highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan in 2008 as also with state civilian honour like Maharashtra Bhushan.


As renowned industrialist Harsh Goenka aptly puts it, “……a beacon of integrity, ethical leadership and philanthropy, who has imprinted an indelible mark on the world of business and beyond.”

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