On a shopping spree

From January 28 to February 26, Delhi will host its first-ever government-sponsored retail extravaganza. The festival will feature 200 concerts for entertainment, culinary strolls, and substantial product discounts.

One of the ambitious initiatives outlined in the Rozgaar Budget 2022–23, which was introduced by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in March of this year, was the Delhi Shopping Festival. According to Kejriwal, the festival will increase employment and the local economy.

For a month, the event will be staged at each of Delhi’s renowned and well-known markets. This festival aims to encourage company expansion, generate employment, increase the popularity of these marketplaces, and ultimately significantly improve Delhi’s economy.

Apart from 200 concerts, there will also be exhibitions on spirituality, gaming, wellness and technology. All throughout the festival, the shops and stalls will also offer huge discounts on products to all the customers. There will also be an awards ceremony to keep up the spirits and the quality of the festival.

“Delhi as a city, is extensively known for its marketplaces and the shopping experience that it provides to the customers. Great Old Chandi Chowk, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar are some of the well renowned markets that need no introduction. These old iconic markets carry their own flavour and have long been contributing to Delhi and its economy. These markets have also attracted millions of people from all over India with their shopping experience, providing great opportunities for the tourism, hospitality sector and in turn contributing tremendously to the economy and employment.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the business has been extremely difficult for the sellers in these markets as a large chunk of the buyers of these markets were tourists, both domestic as well as international. It has seriously impacted the livelihood of people employed in these markets, along with the hospitality and tourism industry,” reads the organizer Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi website about the motivation for the festival.