Today, India celebrates Deepavali — the festival of lights and prosperity — and welcomes Vikram Samvat 2082 with great hope and confidence in the collective future of a nation poised to become the world’s third largest economy. However, as with all moments that mark a new beginning, it is only fitting to pause for a moment of reflection and take stock of the year gone by.
Vikram Samvat 2081 — the year that ended on October 19 — was a truly chequered period for the Indian economy and investors. It was the year that brought India to the crossroads of geopolitics, leading to the United States imposing an unprecedented 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods. Unless the Indo-US trade deal materialises, Indian exports may contract, costing thousands of jobs in export-oriented sectors such as textiles, footwear and jewellery, among others.
Similarly, Indian citizens and people of Indian origin — who have long been India’s brand ambassadors to the United States and a vital source of remittances and inspiration — faced discrimination. Unless the situation improves, India could witness a reverse migration from the United States which, if managed wisely, could bring enormous human and economic capital back home, potentially translating into thousands of startups and tens of thousands of jobs in India.
For investors, Vikram Samvat 2081 proved to be a mixed bag. The BSE Sensex, which had crossed 79,700 last Deepavali, has now soared past 83,952 — a rise of 4,252 points. The Nifty50, too, has advanced from 24,300 to 25,709.85, an increase of 1,409 points. The nation’s market capitalisation has expanded from Rs 4,44,71,429 crore to Rs 4,67,61,076 crore, adding over Rs 22 lakh crore in value within a year. In dollar terms, however, market capitalisation barely rose from $5.29 trillion to $5.316 trillion owing to the weakening of the rupee against the US dollar.
Otherwise, the markets underscored the confidence of domestic investors in India’s growth story. Despite unprecedented global uncertainty and the fickleness of foreign investors, Indian equities weathered the storm, buoyed by the trust that domestic investors placed in the nation’s future.
The standout asset class during Samvat 2081 was the gold-and-silver duo. On November 1, 2024, gold traded at Rs 72,870 per 10 grams, while silver stood at Rs 87.76 per gram. A year later, gold prices have nearly doubled to Rs 1,30,860 per 10 grams, and silver has also jumped to Rs 172 per gram. This surge in bullion prices — traditionally viewed as a hedge against uncertainty — once again validated India’s traditional wisdom and helped Indian women outperform top fund managers.
Crude oil, the lifeblood of industrial economies, has eased from an average of $80 a barrel last year to $62 today, providing much-needed relief on the inflation front. Retail inflation, which stood at 2.87 per cent in November 2024, has remained firmly under control throughout 2025, allowing the Reserve Bank of India and the government sufficient room to steer the economy through the difficult and muddy waters of geopolitics.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
