Invest in consumption

Data indicate a pickup in retail consumption and increase in consumer confidence

The Li Keqiang Index has become a famous economic measure. The Chinese premier embarrassed his nation’s statisticians when he confessed that he tracks several high-speed indicators, rather than trusting China’s gross domestic product (GDP) numbers.

India-watchers need to track high-speed indicators, too.  The macro data are increasingly suspect and might not accurately reflect changes in economic conditions. Apart from the introduction of new data series that generate puzzling data, the economy has just absorbed one big shock, and is bracing for another large shock.

The big shock was demonetisation. Five months after the last notes were deposited, we still don’t