One can say that ‘marriages are made in heaven’, but the grandeur and extravaganza of weddings are definitely made in India. As Covid-19 cases decline and business is gradually coming back to normalcy crossing `1.25 lakh crore during Diwali this year, traders are gearing up for record sale in the upcoming wedding season beginning from November 14, the day of Dev Uthan Ekadashi, (considered as auspicious day ) to December 13.
It is estimated that wedding business will cross the Rs 3 lakh crore mark with over 25 lakh marriages to be solemnised across the country. A KPMG report estimated India’s current wedding market at $50 billion, growing rapidly every year.
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) general secretary Praveen Khandelwal said that in Delhi alone, more than 1.5 lakh weddings are expected to take place this season, which is likely to generate a business of about `50,000 crore. In the last two years, due to Covid and very few Muhurt days of weddings and many restrictions imposed by the government, marriages were held on a very small scale and in small numbers resulting in a very dull market.
Traders are keeping all arrangements up to date with them to meet the possible rush of customers. Khandelwal said that about 20 percent of the expenditure of each marriage goes to the broom-bride's side while 80 percent of the expenditure goes to other third agencies working in solemnising the marriage.
Diwali business sales this year have already crossed Rs 1.25 lakh crore, which is a record in the last 10 years. Similarly, sales on dhanteras were also estimated to be over `60,000 crore.
Acharya Durgesh Tare, Chairman of Spiritual and Vedic Knowledge Committee of CAIT and an eminent vedic scholar said that Dev Uthani Ekadashi or Prabodhini Ekadashi falls on the 11th day from Diwali in the Shukla Paksha after Diwali in the month of Kartik.
Tare said that according to the calculation of stars, November 14th, 28th, 29th and 30th November and in the month of December 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th December are auspicious days for the purpose of holding marriages. After that, the star sinks for a month till January 14 and then again the auspicious days will starts from January 14.
Khandelwal said that before the wedding season, a large amount of business happensin the repair and white wash of houses. Apart from this, jewellery, sarees, lehenga-chunni, readymade garments, clothes, footwear, wedding and greeting cards , dry fruits, sweets, fruits, worship items, grocery, food grains, decoration items, electrical utility, electronics and many gift items etc are usually in demand and it is expected to do good business this year.
According to Khandelwal, in this one month marriage season, about five lakh weddings will have an estimated expenditure of `2 lakh per wedding, while in about five lakh weddings the cost per wedding will be around five lakh per wedding, 10 lakh weddings will cost 10 lakhs per marriage, four lakhs marriages will cost 25 lakhs per marriage,50 thousand marriages will have 50 lakhs expenditure per wedding and 50 thousand marriages will be such in which 1 crore or more money will be spent.
Overall in this one month wedding season around `3 lakh crore will flow through the wedding purchases in the markets.
