Ganesh Chaturthi expects to rake in Rs 25,000 crore in business: industry body
An artist gives finishing touches to idols of Lord Ganesha ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, in Nagpur on Saturday.
The Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which began on Saturday, is expected to generate revenue worth Rs 25,000 crore, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), sharing with several media reports in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said.
Of these, the market for Ganesha idols alone is expected to be worth over Rs 500 crore. Moreover, companies seem to be shunning Chinese products in favour of domestic goods in a bid to support the local economy.
Every year, there are growing calls to make the festival more environmentally friendly, by using clay idols of the Hindu god Ganesha instead of the traditional plaster idols.
Swiggy and Zepto love to party
Capitalizing on the festive excitement, fast-moving platforms like Zepto and Swiggy are also actively promoting various initiatives to boost their sales. On Sunday, Swiggy, which is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO), made waves by launching a ‘modak dispenser’ on Mumbai’s Carter Road. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Swiggy co-founder Phani Kishan A said the dispenser dispenses over 4,000 modaks daily, drawing huge crowds. Modak is a traditional Indian sweet, which is often associated with the festival.
Zepto co-founder Aditya Palicha also took to LinkedIn to share key shopping trends from the weekend, revealing that festival-related sales had increased significantly this year. He said that sales of modak on the platform had increased five-fold, while sales of Ganesh idols had increased ten-fold. Sales of festival decorations also saw a ten-fold increase.
Palicha noted that Bengaluru led all cities, accounting for 25 percent of all sweet orders. On Sunday alone, Zepto sold 1,500 modaks per hour. He added that this year, the platform focused exclusively on eco-friendly Ganesh idols.
The use of PoP for Ganesh Chaturthi is a major concern for environmentalists as the chemical composition of the idols causes irreversible water pollution due to immersion in water bodies.
First publication: 09 Sep 2024 | 15:32 IST