Rural India is recovering

It is still early days before the first-quarter earnings calendar gathers full steam, yet the early result mix is enough to suggest few discerning trends. Foremost is an uptick in consumption demand, which appears widespread, even as rural demand outpaces urban. Consumption sectors (FMCG, durables, autos), though on a soft base, post noticeable volume growth for a consecutive quarter. The IT sector continues with its resurgence thanks to their digital offerings and emerges as a key beneficiary of currency depreciation. Among the major challenges thrown up by the results, input inflation appears sticky for most manufacturing sectors and the impact was felt in sectors like chemicals, auto, agro-chemicals and metals.