Indian passenger vehicle manufacturers are significantly increasing production and stocking dealerships in anticipation of strong festival season demand, with new launches planned and supply bottlenecks being addressed. However, the industry faces potential moderation in growth during the second half of FY27 due to a high base from last year's post-GST surge, commodity inflation, and elevated inventory levels.
Qcom platforms are prioritising convenience, selection, AI-driven inventory planning and loyalty rewards over deep discounting.
The Indian government has imposed stockholding limits on bulk sugar consumers, restricting them to a 15-day supply if they use over 10 tonnes monthly, effective September 1 to November 30, to stabilise prices ahead of the festival season.
...But sales of domestic passenger vehicles dropped 2% to 3% year-on-year in August owing to low demand.
India's passenger vehicle (PV) exports saw a 17 per cent year-on-year decline in August, contrasting sharply with a 36.5 per cent surge in domestic dispatches, which reached a record high for the month as automakers prepared for the festive season.
India's housing market has remained resilient this festival season (Dussehra-Diwali period), despite global macroeconomic challenges, tech-sector layoffs, and affordability pressures, with developers reporting 10-25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in home sales across major cities.
Automobile, apparel and electronics are among sectors that see a sales boost during the festival season, a time when investors expect gains in related stocks. This year could be different: Analysts have factored in all positives and do not expect such stocks to deliver lucrative returns. "Indian households spend across sectors like automobiles, consumer durables, and consumer staples during the festival season.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences of several food establishments in Mumbai, including the Nair Hospital canteen and Olympia Coffee House, due to serious violations of food safety and hygiene standards. Inspections revealed issues like unsanitary conditions, improper food handling, pest infestations, and lack of trained staff. The FDA also cancelled licences of other businesses and seized unhygienic milk products as part of a festive season campaign.
Indian refiners are diverting 350,000 tonnes of sugar, originally slated for export, to the domestic market to ease a supply crunch and stabilise prices ahead of the festive season.
'The ethanol blended with petrol programme should not be halted or reconsidered.' 'India is not experiencing a structural sugar shortage, and the ethanol blending roadmap does not compete with food security or drive domestic price increases.'
With passenger vehicles (PVs), two-wheelers and three-wheelers registering double-digit growth, manufacturers raise production as the industry enters the festival season.
'With factories starting early for the next season, fresh sugar will enter market 10-15 days earlier than usual, and sugar price are expected to remain affordable in near term.'
Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya has ignited a political firestorm with his controversial remarks suggesting sugar should be "very expensive" and avoided by those over 40, drawing sharp criticism from the opposition amidst rising inflation concerns.
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.
India is set to import 1 million tonnes of raw sugar at zero duty after domestic stocks fell sharply and prices surged ahead of the festival season.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences of popular Mumbai restaurant Cafe Mondegar and three other food establishments due to serious food safety and hygiene violations. This action is part of an intensified crackdown by the FDA, which also saw inspections of 38 establishments, seizure of substandard food products worth over Rs 15 lakh, and action against banned gutkha products totalling Rs 1.35 crore in seized goods and vehicles across Maharashtra.
India's electric two-wheeler market has seen record penetration, exceeding 11.2 per cent, driven by crude oil price fluctuations. This surge has led to an unexpected crisis for Indian OEMs, with unfulfilled customer demand reaching 20-30 per cent and average waiting periods exceeding four weeks, a situation expected to intensify during the upcoming festival season.
The Centre has launched dedicated Kanda Express onion trains from Nashik to major cities, releasing buffer stocks at 35/kg to curb a sharp seasonal rise in onion prices.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) reported Q1FY27 results showing significant margin pressures at both Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and its domestic operations, despite strong volume growth in the India business. Analysts expect these margin headwinds to persist, potentially offsetting gains from increased sales and new launches.
Economists widely anticipate the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee will increase the repo rate by 50 basis points, likely split between the October and December meetings, as retail inflation is projected to peak at 6.1 per cent in the third quarter, exceeding the RBI's tolerance limit.
Prices had started to ease following the government's decision to allow duty-free imports of 1 mt of raw sugar and would weaken further over the next 7 to 10 days.
The recent equity market weakness has sobered up investor mood, but the coming festive season is keeping analysts upbeat on stocks related to the consumption basket. Among the lot, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and consumer electronics segments are expected to do well over the next few months, and investors should thus selectively take bets in these pockets, analysts suggest. "We expect good volume growth for the FMCG sector during the festive season with some improvement in rural demand.
As a result of demand due to upcoming festivals, inflation has taken several essentials like spices, edible oil and milk out of the common man's reach, Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.
The muted expectation of dealers come at a time when vehicle manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Mahindra & Mahindra and others reported a double-digit fall in wholesale dispatches to dealerships in July and August.
The Centre will utilise huge network of post offices across the country to sell subsidised pulses, mainly tur, urad and chana, to ensure availability in the ongoing festival season.
The Indian stock market in the October-November period sees high trading activity due to increased consumer spending, festive demand, upbeat sentiment, renewed investor confidence, and the auspicious Muhurat trading session. This impacts many stocks and sectors in the festive season.
With gains of over 28 per cent, Hero MotoCorp has emerged as the best-performing largecap automotive stock over the past three months. The rally has been driven by an improved outlook for the rural segment, higher demand during the ongoing festival season, and rising affordability following cuts in goods and services tax (GST) rates.
At least 50,000 units of new residential property are set to come up over the next three years
India's gifting market is seeing its biggest festive season yet, with sales through quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart jumping 40%-50% year-on-year.
Festive sales are expected to surge 27 per cent to cross Rs 120,000 crore in 2025, driving Amazon and Flipkart to expand warehousing capacity by millions of cubic feet and extend delivery networks to thousands of new pin codes -- an infrastructure buildout that could reshape India's retail landscape for years.
Qcom alone is expected to account for a 60 per cent surge in gig hiring, adding 1.5 million to 2 million roles.
Shaji Kailas delivers familiar mass moments, but Varavu never rises above its dated revenge formula.
Godrej Properties closed FY26 with record bookings and presales, exceeding its annual guidance, but brokerages express concerns over weak cash-flow generation and the ability to sustain growth amidst a muted real estate market.
Those who have binged on credit must spend less, cut discretionary expenses, and focus on repayment.
Google's new Nexus models are hands down the show-stealers of the season.
This year, Holi gets an extra splash of sparkle because it shares its date with Shraddha Kapoor's 39th birthday.
Prices of two-wheelers, passenger and commercial vehicles are set to rise 15-25%
Automotive (auto) and consumer appliance companies are hoping for a bounty from the harvest season after two consecutive dry spells in 2020 and 2021. The season, which also marks the beginning of the regional New Year, kicked in across the country from April 1 - Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra; Ugadi in Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh; Bihu in the Northeast; and Chaitra Navratri in the North. Manufacturers and retailers of cars, two-wheelers, and consumer appliances said they have seen demand pick up year-on-year (YoY) at a brisk pace across categories.
Be mindful that each instrument is governed by a different set of gifting rules and is also taxed differently.
Given the stronger rural activity, and potential goods and services tax (GST) impact, investors are bullish on the two-wheeler (2W) segment. In August, dealers in the domestic market picked up 11 per cent more 2Ws year-on-year (Y-o-Y), despite only 2 per cent growth in retail registrations. This indicates inventory stocking ahead of the festival season. Export trends were good. TVS Motor and Royal Enfield may have gained domestic market share.
