 "The Nifty FMCG index has remained nearly flat, registering just a 0.3 per cent increase since the start of the 2024 calendar year. As of Wednesday, the FMCG index closed at 57,177.6, compared to 56,987.2 at the end of December 2023.")
There are at present two diverging narratives about Indian household consumption. Stock market analysts, especially mutual funds, propagate the narrative of unstoppable, runaway, world-beating consumption growth. They project that the demographics, living conditions, and income-growth parameters that have driven stellar aggregate consumption growth between 2010 and 2025 (which is true) will continue to improve steadily (cannot argue, but the devil is in the detail).
In another narrative, since 2024 main street watchers have been flagging slower consumption growth. The factors are private final consumption expenditure growing slower than gross domestic product, a weak job environment, welfare-fuelled consumption, stagnant middle-class wages
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
