Page 3 - Festive Season

Indian economy's slow-but-steady activity awaits festive season boost

India's economy showed signs of slowing-but-steady growth last month, with businesses holding on to optimism that domestic demand will revive as the peak shopping season approaches

Paytm loan disbursals up 482% YoY in Q2, firm sees 'continued growth'

Festive season preparation drives business for digital payments company

Understand conditions that can render warranty void before buying a product

Buy an extended warranty only if there is no duplication vis-a-vis manufacturer's warranty

Festive cheer lifts consumer mood

While consumer expectations grew in both rural and urban regions, the rate of increase was much higher in urban than in rural areas

More flights needed on Darbhanga-Delhi route amid festivities: Bihar govt

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Friday said more flights were needed on the Darbhanga-Delhi route keeping in mind the heavy rush expected during Deepawali-Chhath festivities. State minister Sanjay Kumar Jha, a key aide of the Bihar CM, also said that he had communicated the same to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia whom he met in Delhi recently. The airport at Darbhanga has been the "most successful" among all the ones set up under the UDAAN scheme. But a person flying from the north Bihar town to the national capital has to cough up the same amount as someone who is flying from Delhi to Dubai, Jha told reporters here. "This has been because SpiceJet, which has a monopoly on the route, cannot meet the demands. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has grounded 50 per cent of its fleet", the Bihar minister added. "I have pleaded with Scindia that people must not be made to suffer on this account, especially during the upcoming festive season when heavy .

OYO elevates two senior execs in service experience and revenue functions

The firm recently had also revamped its flagship patron-facing app, CO-OYO, allowing users to now run their own promotional offers ahead of the peak festive travel season this year

Kalyan, PC Jeweller hit 52-week highs on hopes of strong demand

After muted months of July and August, mainly due to delayed weddings in South India, analysts expect demand to bounce back in the December quarter given Navratri, and festive season across India

Not just car, get a good deal on auto loan as well, advise experts

Besides discount, look for free warranty, insurance and accessories to lower purchase cost

Automobile sales revved up 11% in Sept amid festival fervour: FADA

October likely to be good, too, amid the festival season

Weak rural demand drags down FMCG sales in September, shows data

Bizom pointed out that rural sales were impacted in September due to excessive rainfall in some areas and weak rainfall in some other regions, thereby affecting agri yields and household incomes

Consumer spending in India expected to be high this festival season: Report

Coming out of the pandemic, consumers in India have expressed a strong desire to buy more discretionary products during the festive season, according to Deloitte's Global State of Consumer Tracker. Deloitte's latest analysis indicates that consumers are willing to increase spend on both travel and hotel stays. They also intend to buy either a new or used vehicle within the next six months. "Despite concerns over inflation, the planned spending over the next four weeks will see spike across age groups in all categories," Deloitte said in a press statement. Consumers' intent to purchase clothing, electronic and home furnishing, and recreation, entertainment and leisure, indicates a positive spending pattern triggered by the upcoming festive season. "The survey findings clearly indicate that consumers plan to increase their discretionary spend by 30 per cent (on items such as recreation and entertainment, restaurants, and leisure travel) in August 2022, compared with April 2022," it .

Power consumption grows 13.31% to 127.39 billion units in September

India's power consumption grew 13.31 per cent on an annual basis to 127.39 billion units (BU) in September 2022 and 11.65 per cent during the first six months of this fiscal, as per government data. The double-digit growth highlights recovery in economic activities following the pandemic-induced lockdown, experts said. They are also of the view that demand as well as consumption of electricity will increase due to the festive season and improvement in economic activity. Power consumption in September last year was recorded at 112.43 BU, higher than 112.24 BU in the same month of 2020, power ministry data showed. Electricity consumption during April-September 2022 grew by 11.65 per cent to 786.5 BU compared to 740.40 BU in the same period in 2021. It was 625.33 BU in April-September 2020. The peak power demand met, which is the highest supply in a day, in September 2022 rose to 199.47 gigawatts (GW). The peak power supply stood at 180.73 GW in September 2021 and 176.41 GW in Septe

GST mop-up in Sept at Rs 1.47 trn; festival season to push up revenues

GST collections remained above Rs 1.40 lakh crore for the seventh month in a row at Rs 1.47 lakh crore in September, a 26 per cent increase over last year, reflecting buoyancy in tax collection and stability of the GST portal, the finance ministry said on Saturday. With the ongoing festive season, the collections are expected to go up in the coming months, experts said. "The gross GST revenue collected in the month of September 2022 is Rs 1,47,686 crore, of which Central GST is Rs 25,271 crore, State GST is Rs 31,813 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 80,464 crore (including Rs 41,215 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 10,137 crore (including Rs 856 crore collected on import of goods)," it said. The GST collections had touched a record Rs 1.67 lakh crore in April, while in August it was over Rs 1.43 lakh crore. The revenues for the month of September 2022 were 26 per cent higher than those recorded in the same month last year. During the month, revenues from import of good

Ahead of festive season, retail credit growth nears 20% in August

Credit growth to the services sector accelerated to 17.2 per cent in August 2022 from just 2.1 per cent a year ago. It was mainly due to improved credit off-take to NBFCs and trade sectors.

SoftBank-backed Meesho records nearly 68% jump in festival sales

Customers placed a record of about 33.4 million orders during the mega sale with nearly 60 per cent of all orders coming from tier 4+ cities.

Robust demand for luxury products exposes widening inequality in India

Consumer-goods makers are reporting robust demand for items priced nearly $2,000 in a nation where per-capita income is just a tad above that level

Hope ad revenue to recover fully to pre-Covid level by Q4: PVR CEO

Brahmastra has done well for the cinema industry. It has put the Boycott-Bollywood movement to rest.

Car makers on road to pre-Covid profit as festival season sales soar

Maruti is operating at 95 per cent of its prodcution capacity

Ad spends likely to get double-digit boost as festive cheer returns

Ad spend projected to be Rs 30,000 crore this time - growth of 15% over last year's Rs 26,000 crore

With comfortable coal stocks, no power crisis likely this festive season

India is unlikely to see a repeat of the 2021 energy crisis this festive season as coal-fired power stations across the country have comfortable levels of the fuel stock to meet electricity demand of the world's fastest expanding major economy. Learning lessons from the October 2021 energy crisis, when power stations were put on outage alert, due to coal stocks falling to the lowest level in years, the ministries of coal and power as well as railways this year have worked out a plan to ensure adequate fuel stocks at electricity generating units, officials said. With coal used to produce almost 70 per cent of electricity, officials are confident that the 2021 crisis will not be repeated this festive season that kicks in a week's time. Electricity demand in India has soared with a rebound in industrial activity after easing of pandemic-related curbs. And the increased lightning needs during the festive season is likely to send the demand shooting. According to a coal ministry officia