New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) is upbeat and expects festive sales of over Rs 4 lakh crore due to this year’s extended festival season, a period of significant cultural and religious celebrations in India. This season kick-started with Raksha Bandhan on August 19 and will extend to November 15 on the day of Tulsi Vivah.
This year’s festive series began with Raksha Bandhan. They will continue through Janmashtami, the 10-day Ganesh Utsav, Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj, Chhath Puja, and other festivals, culminating with Tulsi Vivah.
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“During this festive period, the business community across the country is fully prepared to meet consumer demands, and traders have stocked up adequately on all products,” a CAIT representative said.
Given the massive rush in the markets on Monday, Raksha Bandhan sales alone were expected to surpass Rs 12,000 crore across the country.
Demand for Indigenous Goods
The trade body proudly stated that customers overwhelmingly preferred to buy indigenous Rakhis over Chinese Rakhis this year, showing strong support for local products.
“For several years now, only indigenous Rakhis have been sold in the country, and this year too, there was neither demand for nor any presence of Chinese Rakhis in the market,” according to a CAIT statement.
Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT’s National General Secretary and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk, expressed optimism as he stated that business generated during Rakhi was expected to touch Rs 12,000 crore, a significant increase from last year’s trade of approximately Rs 10,000 crore.
As per Khandelwal, the business was around Rs 7,000 crore in 2022, Rs 6,000 crore in 2021, Rs 5,000 crore in 2020, Rs 3,500 crore in 2019, and Rs 3,000 crore in 2018.
Khandelwal and CAIT’s National President, BC Bhartia, mentioned that this year, many of the Rakhis sold had a special feature—they were made out of famous products from various cities in the country.
For instance, this year saw high demand for Khadi Rakhi made in Nagpur, jute Rakhi from Kolkata, silk Rakhi from Mumbai, date Rakhi from Kerala, pearl Rakhi from Kanpur, Madhubani and Maithili Art Rakhi from Bihar, soft stone Rakhi from Pondicherry, flower Rakhi from Bengaluru, Sanganeri Art Rakhi from Jaipur, seed Rakhi from Pune, woollen Rakhi from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, bamboo Rakhi made from tribal items and tea leaf Rakhi from Assam.
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–IANS
Photo Courtesy: Rakhi Display by Shalabh Sanger
