Last Updated:October 18, 2025, 22:34 IST

Gold and silver sales alone accounted for an astonishing Rs 60,000 crore of the total trade, registering a robust 25% increase from last year’s value

Gold prices have soared by approximately 60% year-on-year, crossing the Rs 1,30,000 per 10-gram mark. (Representational image/News18)

Indian consumers defied a massive surge in prices to spend an estimated Rs 1 lakh crore on Dhanteras this year, showcasing the festival’s undiminished cultural and economic significance. According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), this massive spending spree marks a significant festive boost, with strong consumer confidence overriding high-cost pressures.

The driving force behind this record expenditure was the traditional purchase of precious metals. Gold and silver sales alone accounted for an astonishing Rs 60,000 crore of the total trade, registering a robust 25% increase from last year’s value. This surge is particularly striking given the steep rise in bullion costs: gold prices have soared by approximately 60% year-on-year, crossing the Rs 1,30,000 per 10-gram mark, while silver prices have also jumped by roughly 55%.

CAIT attributed this resilient demand to the deep-rooted Indian belief in precious metals as the most secure form of investment and an auspicious purchase on Dhanteras, the day that marks the beginning of Diwali celebrations. While volumes may have seen a slight dip, the rise in value was substantial, as many consumers opted for strategic buying—favouring lightweight jewellery, gold coins, and bullion for investment purposes to fulfill the shagun (auspicious tradition).

Beyond bullion, the festive purchasing extended across various sectors, underlining a broad economic recovery. Other major contributors to the Rs 1 lakh crore total included utensils and kitchen appliances (estimated at Rs 15,000 crore), electronic and electrical goods (Rs 10,000 crore), and vehicles, textiles, and decorative items.

The festive spending also received a further boost from the popularity of the “Vocal for Local” campaign, with consumers showing a clear preference for Indian-made products, benefiting small traders and local manufacturers across the country.

Pathikrit Sen Gupta

Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via …Read More

Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via … Read More

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Dhanteras 2025 is turning into a record-breaking festival for Indian retailers, with strong demand across automobiles, electronics, and jewellery.Maruti Suzuki India expects to cross the 50,000-unit mark over the two-day festival, marking its highest-ever Dhanteras sales, said senior executive officer, marketing & sales, Partho Banerjee. “We are expecting around 41,000 deliveries today, with another 10,000 customers taking delivery tomorrow. This is going to be the all-time high for Dhanteras deliveries,” he told reporters. As per news agency PTI, Banerjee added that since the September 18 price reduction, the company has received nearly 4.5 lakh bookings, with small car bookings approaching one lakh units and retail deliveries reaching 3.25 lakh units in a month.Rival Hyundai Motor India Ltd MD & CEO designate Tarun Garg noted strong festive demand, with expected deliveries around 14,000 units, a 20 per cent increase from last year.“The positive momentum is driven by the festive spirit, a buoyant market environment and the encouraging impact of GST 2.0 reforms,” he said, as per PTI.Consumer electronics firms are also reporting a surge in sales. Panasonic Life Solutions director Sandeep Sehgal said large-screen TVs of 55 inches and above contributed to a 4K sellout growth of over 36 per cent from October 1 to 17, with overall TV and RAC sales expected to grow around 30 per cent compared to last year. Haier Appliances India reported strong demand for premium products such as large-screen TVs, side-by-side refrigerators, and front-load washing machines, with growth expected to exceed 50 per cent.The companies attributed the boost partly to the recent GST reforms, which reduced duties on electronics and essential goods, leaving more disposable income with consumers.Jewellery retailers also saw healthy festive sales, spanning investment-driven purchases above Rs 2 lakh to lightweight jewellery and gold coins, Tanishq senior vice president Arun said.Demand was robust across metros and Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns.Overall, the festival is witnessing an unprecedented consumer turnout, reflecting optimism fueled by GST rate cuts and the convenience of festive shopping across multiple categories, from cars and electronics to gold and jewellery.This year’s Dhanteras demonstrates a broad-based consumption surge, with both traditional purchases like gold and modern categories like automobiles and electronics benefiting from economic reforms and festive enthusiasm.

Scottish Greens will “call out the lies of big polluters”, co-leader Gillian Mackay said as she branded plans to develop the Rosebank oil field as “pure climate vandalism”.

Ms Mackay spoke out as demonstrators opposed to drilling the site gathered in London on Saturday.

Plans to develop the North Sea field – which is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil – have been submitted again by owners Equinor.

However, Ms Mackay told the Scottish Green Party conference in Edinburgh: “We have to be the party that calls out the lies of big polluters.”

Ms Mackay, who was elected co-leader with fellow MSP Ross Greer in August, told her fellow Scottish Greens: “Drilling for new oil and gas in fields like Rosebank will do nothing to lower energy bills or protect our planet.

“It is pure climate vandalism and we have to stop Rosebank.”

Development of the oil field, which lies 80 miles west of Shetland, had been approved by the Conservative government in 2023 but that decision was challenged in the courts in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling which said the emissions created from burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting permission for new drilling sites.

Her comments came as Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, insisted the UK is “one of the most nature depleted countries in the world”.

Addressing protesters in London, Mr Polanski said: “The very least this Government need to do is to stop making things worse.”

Ms Mackay also used her conference speech to hit out at the UK Government over the closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery in Grangemouth.

Hundreds of jobs were lost after owners Petroineos closed the refinery earlier this year, with Ms Mackay, who grew up in the area saying: “I’m sick of governments and corporations using tags like ‘just transition’ as a cheap slogan.

“What happened in Grangemouth is not a just transition.

“Our communities don’t need empty words, words don’t pay the bills, or put food on the table.

“They need real plans to provide real jobs and real opportunities.”

Ms Mackay insisted: “That site could have been saved. Labour promised to save it – they promised £200 million – and the message from the workers is clear: show us the money.”

She said that the Grangemouth plant “could have been nationalised”, adding: “We cannot leave the future of our communities in the hands of billionaires who are all too happy to abandon us when the money dries up.”

With the Scottish Greens having set the target of overtaking Labour in May’s Holyrood ballot, Ms Mackay said her party was “on the verge of a historic election” with the “chance to elect more green voices than ever before”.

She also told how the birth of her first child, Callan, in June meant she had “never felt more committed to building a greener Scotland”.

She joked that she was speaking at Saturday’s conference “in relatively one piece, without too much baby dribble on me” as she said the Green model, with two co-leaders at the helm, had allowed her to take on the challenge.

“In other parties there would have been a whole load of barriers to a new mum being elected to a leadership role,” Ms Mackay said.

“It is only because of our co-leadership model and the support of ordinary members, I have been afforded this opportunity.”

She continued: “The support I have had says something about our party and the values we stand for.

“When I think about the country I want us to be, it is one where we support each other, one where we lift each other up and one where we do things differently.”