Winning Bizness Economic Desk

Retail sales registered a four per cent increase in April of this year as compared to the same month of last year (2024), the Retailers Association of India (RAI) said in its survey.

It highlighted the steady domestic demand at a time when global trade conditions were unsettled.

The regional data showed that north and west India registered the highest Year-on-Year (YoY) growth at six per cent and five per cent, respectively.

The east and southern regions of the country clocked a two per cent increase each.

Among categories, Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) led with an eleven per cent growth, while beauty, wellness and personal care and food and grocery expanded six per cent each.

The Retailers Association of India survey pointed out that sports goods and consumer durables and electronics grew at the slowest rate of one per cent each.

It also noted a cautious but steady outlook among retailers, with no significant drops in consumer spending.

Here, a point to note is that in March 2025, a six per cent yearly increase in retail sales was reported.

Country’s Forex Reserves Surge to USD 692.72-bn

India’s foreign exchange reserves climbed up by USD 6.992-billion to USD 692.721-billion during the week ended May 23, the country’s central bank—the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)—data showed.

In the previous reporting week ended May 16, the overall reserves had dropped by USD 4.888-billion to USD 685.729-billion.

Forex reserves had touched an all-time high of USD 704.885-billion in end-September of last year (2024).

For the week ended May 23, the Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), a major component of the reserves increased by USD 4.516-million to USD 586.167-billion, the data showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units such as the Euro, Pound and Japanese Yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves moved up northward by USD 2.366-billion to USD 83.582-billion during the week, the Reserve Bank said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) increased by USD 81-million to USD 18.571-billion, the RBI data showed. India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also up by USD 30-million at USD 4.401-billion, in the reporting week, the central bank’s data showed.

India’s Industrial Growth at 2.7 pc in April

The country’s industrial growth activity slowed down to an eight-month low of 2.7 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) in April of this year from the 3.9 per cent registered in March.

India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) was dragged down by lower activity in several sectors, including mining and quarrying, electricity, primary goods, infrastructure and construction and consumer non-durables.

According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the IIP stood at 152.0 in April, up from 148.0 in April 2024.

Among the sectors, manufacturing, which carries the largest weight index, grew 3.4 per cent, up from the three per cent in March.

Electricity generation moved northward by 1.1 per cent, while mining output contracted by 0.2 per cent, the lowest since August last year.

However, the point that needs highlighting here is the strong growth of 20.3 per cent registered by the capital goods sector in April of this year, albeit on a low base of 2.81 per cent in April of last year.

Another segment that also clocked a healthy growth was the consumer durables segment—its growth quickened to 6.4 per cent, which is a three-month high.

On the other hand, consumer non-durables output contracted 1.7 per cent as compared to a decline of 2.5 per cent a year ago.

The infrastructure and construction goods sectors reported a growth of four per cent in April, down from an 8.5 per cent expansion in the year-ago period.

The output of primary goods contracted by 0.4 per cent in April as against a seven per cent growth in the year-ago period.

The expansion in the intermediate goods segment was 4.1 per cent in the month under review, up from the 3.8 per cent of the year ago.

Mumbai Clocks Over 11,000 Property Sales in May

The financial capital of India, Mumbai, witnessed 11,504 properties sales registrations in the real estate sector in May 2025, according to Knight Frank India.

Sales in the segment witnessed a 5.3 per cent increase as compared to May of last year.

The surge in property transactions resulted in revenue for the Maharashtra government with stamp duty collections crossing Rs 1,057-crore during the month.

Meanwhile, local home-buyers continued to dominate with 86 per cent of the transactions coming from residents within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

On an average, 555 property registrations were recorded daily which is the third consecutive month when daily registrations remained above the 500 mark.

Mid-sized homes remained the most sought-after, particularly flats measuring between 500 and 1,000 sq ft which accounts for 47 per cent of total sales.

What requires highlighting here is that the western suburbs market has contributed 59 per cent of all registrations.

Knight Frank India also noted that the demand for housing in Mumbai continues to be strong. It also pointed out that buyers are increasingly choosing projects by reputed developers in the primary market.

Indian Hospitality Sector Set to Attract USD 1-bn Investments by 2028: Report

The country’s hospitality industry is expected to attract USD 1-billion in investments by 2028, a huge increase from the USD 340-million in hotel transactions recorded last year, a report pointed out.

The Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) climbed up steeply by 16.3 per cent during the January-to-March quarter this year as compared to the same period of the year-ago, the global commercial real estate and investment management company, JLL said.

The sector’s strong performance continued sequentially as well with an eight RevPAR increase during the October-to-December 2024 period across the country.

Investment confidence remained high with 79 new hotel signings totalling 9,478 keys during this three-month period, signalling sustained expansion in the country’s accommodation landscape, the report stated.

What needs highlighting here is that Bangalore has emerged as the stand-out performer with an impressive 38.3 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) RevPAR growth.

Delhi and Mumbai followed with strong RevPAR growth of 26.2 per cent and 21.3 per cent, respectively, supported by robust occupancy levels.

Chennai’s hospitality market showed notable performance with an 18.7 per cent RevPAR growth, attributed to increased corporate travel, the Annual Leather Fair and the USICON event held at the Chennai Trade Fair.

The southern city of Hyderabad also posted solid results with a 15.1 per cent RevPAR growth despite a slight occupancy decline, demonstrating strength in rate growth.

The development pipeline remained vigorous with 31 new branded hotels (3,253) opening during January-to-March 2025, added the report.