'Made in India' and GST reforms boost record Diwali sales: Industry leaders

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) Industry leaders across India on Wednesday praised the country’s record-breaking Diwali trade this year, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Made in India’ and recent economic reforms are showing strong results on the ground.

According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), India recorded its highest-ever Diwali trade, with total sales estimated at Rs 6.05 lakh crore.

This historic figure is being seen as a clear sign of growing consumer confidence and a strong boost for Indian-made products.

Speaking to IANS, BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman, Harvansh Chawla, said: "I already stated that this Diwali will be a bumper Diwali. Never before have we seen such sales and enthusiasm in our economy as we are seeing this time. All credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

He added that the 'Made in India' slogan is gaining momentum, and its results will become more visible in the next six months to a year.

Echoing similar sentiments, PHDCCI CEO & Secretary General, Ranjeet Mehta, noted that GST reforms introduced before Diwali had a very positive impact on trade.

"The Prime Minister inspired people to use Swadeshi goods, and this step was crucial, especially in today’s fragmented global trade environment. In fact, 80 per cent of goods sold were Indian products, which is very encouraging," he told IANS.

In Kolkata, Bharat Chamber of Commerce state President Naresh Pachisia also acknowledged the success of the festive season. "This consumer demand is something we haven’t seen for a long time. The reduction in GST on consumption-related goods played a key role.”

“A gap in sales after the September 22nd announcement created pent-up demand, which helped fuel this huge surge in Diwali trade,” he added.

PHDCCI President Rajeev Juneja emphasised the need to continue supporting smaller industries in line with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’.

"Our responsibility is to build bridges between small- and medium-scale industries and government departments. We aim to help small industries grow into large ones by providing all possible support," he said.

--IANS

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