In October, consumer confidence had plummeted seven points with low enthusiasm as regards to jobs, spending and economy. ( Image: Bloomberg)

After months of slump witnessed in consumer confidence in India, the same has picked up in December as various government measures boost the mood. “In December, consumer confidence has further surged by 3.3 percentage points,” according to the latest India Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI), by Thomson Reuters-Ipsos. The confidence has remained downbeat for some time as the country has been reeling under a slowdown since February 2019. However, mood since Diwali 2019 has been upbeat, according to the monthly surveys by Ipsos-Thomson Reuters.

However, the recent RBI survey on consumer sentiment has said that consumer spending is not likely to witness an upswing in the coming months as well due to the faltering economy. “Consumers expect their overall spending to remain unchanged going forward largely due to an increase in prices,” the Reserve Bank of India said in its fifth bi-monthly policy earlier in December. The retail inflation has surged 4.6% in October as food prices have hiked.

“We see a waft of optimism brewing among urban Indians, which is a good sign. They are feeling a lot more enthused and positive about their personal financial conditions, even about investments and savings. Further, confidence around jobs has returned after months of low ebb,” Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India & Operations Director, Ipsos APAC, said in a statement on Wednesday. The same has been aided by various measures deployed by the government in the past few months, he added. Indian government has been trying to uplift the mood and several measures such as corporate tax reduction have been meted out this year.

In October, consumer confidence had plummeted seven points with low enthusiasm as regards to jobs, spending and economy. Of the four sub-indices that are taken into account to measure the monthly PCSI, all of them viz Employment Confidence, Economic Expectations, Investment Climate, and Current Personal Financial Conditions have shot up in the last month, the survey added.