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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.

Will Shreyas Iyer Crawl Back into the Good Books?

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Shreyas Iyer – the cricketing equivalent of that friend who keeps getting invited to parties but then spends the whole night awkwardly nursing a drink in the corner. Once hailed as India’s middle-order messiah, Shreyas has now become the poster boy for the BCCI selectors’ favorite pastime: the art of the inexplicable snub. As of September 2025, with the Asia Cup squad announcement still fresh like a bad breakup, one can’t help but wonder: will this talented batsman ever regain the favor of the Board of Control for Cricket in India?


Shreyas burst onto the scene in 2021 like a firecracker at Diwali – debuting in all formats, scoring fifties on debut, and even captaining the side in ODIs and Tests. It was the stuff of Bollywood dreams: the underdog rising to glory. But oh, how the selectors love a plot twist. By late 2023, after a string of back injuries and a batting slump that made his average look like a sad puppy’s face (187 runs in 12 Test innings at 17), he was unceremoniously dropped from the Test team. Drop number one: the classic “form dip” excuse. Fair enough, you might say – cricket’s a results game. But wait, there’s more!


Enter 2024, the year Shreyas decided to test the BCCI’s loyalty by prioritizing IPL and international commitments over domestic cricket. Big mistake. The BCCI, in a move straight out of a petty soap opera, stripped him of his central contract. Ignore number one (or drop number two, depending on how you slice it): no pay packet for you, Mr. Iyer! Fans were baffled – here was a guy who’d led India to victories, yet he was treated like he’d forgotten to bow to the selection committee. Ishan Kishan joined him in contract exile for similar “crimes,” but while Kishan clawed his way back, Shreyas spent months in the wilderness, probably wondering if he’d accidentally offended the cricket gods by choosing the wrong brand of bat.


Fast-forward to April 2025, and huzzah! Shreyas regains his Grade B central contract, a modest comeback that felt like being promoted from economy to business class – still not first, but better than steerage. Relief all around, right? Wrong. Just a month later, in May 2025, the selectors drop the hammer again: he’s omitted from the England tour squad after another lean patch. Drop number three: because apparently, one good domestic stint isn’t enough to erase the ghosts of past failures. At this point, Shreyas must be thinking, “Guys, I’m batting for KKR in IPL, scoring boundaries like it’s going out of style – what’s a man gotta do?” But no, the committee, led by the ever-enigmatic Ajit Agarkar, decided it was time for “fresh blood” or whatever euphemism they use for “we’re bored of you.”


And then, the pièce de résistance – or should I say, the snub de la snub – arrives in August 2025. Despite a stellar IPL 2025 where he smashed 604 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of 175.07 (that’s code for “I’m on fire, selectors!”), Shreyas is left out of the Asia Cup squad. Drop number four, and this one’s a doozy. Fans exploded on social media, calling it “dirty politics” and “shame on BCCI.” Experts like Irfan Pathan backed him, saying there’s “no doubt” about his class, yet here he is, snubbed harder than a blind date who shows up in flip-flops. The omission was so shocking it made the list of “5 shocking exclusions,” right alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Shreyas himself broke his silence recently, admitting it’s “frustrating” – understatement of the century, buddy. Imagine training your life away, only to be told, “Nah, we’re good with the other middle-order options who… well, exist.”


So, tallying it up: at least four major drops or ignores in the last two years alone – from Tests in 2023, central contract in 2024, England tour in 2025, and now Asia Cup. That’s not a career; that’s a revolving door with a “No Entry” sign for Shreyas. The selectors seem to treat him like a yo-yo: up for a bit, then down faster than India’s stock market on a bad day. Is it form? Politics? Or just the BCCI’s way of keeping things spicy? One can’t help but chuckle at the irony – a player who’s captained India A multiple times (like the recent multi-day series against Australia A in September 2025, where he’s leading despite the snub) is somehow not “ready” for the big leagues. Meanwhile, rumors swirl of a possible Test comeback against West Indies. Oh, joy – another chance to be dropped!


(The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

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