Modi Tax Cut Fuels $68 Billion Festival Shopping Boom in India

India’s sweeping consumption tax cut drove shoppers to splurge on items from cars to kitchenware during the month-long festival season, boosting the economy that was slammed with a 50% import levy by the US.

Spending between Sept. 22 and Oct. 21 — the period between the Hindu festivals of Navratri and Diwali — increased 8.5% from the same time last year, according to data from retail intelligence platform Bizom shared with Bloomberg News.

Sales across the country topped 6 trillion rupees ($67.6 billion), with items like jewelry, electronics, apparels, furnishing, and sweets most in demand, B. C. Bhartia, national president ...