On a fortnightly basis, economic indicators remained steady, except UPI payments, which moderated from the previous fortnight, according to Teresa John, deputy head of research and economist at Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities.
Rural indicators are looking up, with demand for work under the MGNREGA seeing a significant decline of 21.6% on an annual basis, which may be attributed to a pick-up in agricultural activity, she said.
Amid a continuing catch up in the south west monsoons, kharif acreage was up by about 2% at the start of August, with paddy and pulses seeing higher acreage from a year ago. FMCG companies, too, continued to report a modest improvement in rural demand.
The big blip to note is the fact that rural once again grew faster, said Rohit Jawa, chief executive officer and managing director, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. “Although on a two-year CAGR basis, it’s still lagging urban, but in the last few months, it grew faster in volume, and that is the more notable change,” he said.
