Shillong, Oct. 3 -- One of the biggest festive season of India- Durga Puja, to be followed by Deepawali - the festival of lights, is the time when small traders eagerly await for big annual sales, whereas, the economic slowdown this time has drastically affected the purchasing power of the individual, which has led to the worst business after the November 8, 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation. Moreover, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections dropped sharply to a 19-month low of Rs 91,916 crore in September, mirroring a widening slowdown in economy triggered by shrinking consumer demand.

Even after the September 20 big bonanza by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by reducing the base Corporate Tax rate to 22 per cent from 30 per ...