India's economy puts up brave front as GST, auto sales and UPI payments surge despite Gulf war

New Delhi: High-frequency indicators released at the end of the fiscal year signalled that India's economy has stayed resilient despite disruptions stemming from the Gulf war.

Goods and services tax collections grew 8.8% year-on-year in March, while domestic passenger vehicle sales recorded a strong 16.3% increase. Power consumption rose 1.8% to 149.56 billion units during the month and railway freight loading climbed 3.4% to 166.2 million tonnes.

Digital payments also remained robust, with UPI transactions hitting 22.6 billion in March, marking a 23.5% increase over the previous year.


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Defying Disruptions

Gross GST collections stood at ₹2 lakh crore in March, up from ₹1.84 lakh crore in the year-ago month, according to data released on Wednesday. This marks the third-highest monthly collection in FY26, following the record ₹2.36 lakh crore in April and nearly matching ₹2.01 lakh crore in May.

Industry estimates indicated that 450,000 cars were sold in March, up from 387,000 in the same month last year. For the full fiscal year, car sales rose 8.3% to 4.7 million units, up from 4.34 million units in FY25.

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Senior auto industry executives noted that demand, supply chains and production have so far remained largely unaffected by the West Asia conflict.

However, economists warned that the impact of LPG shortages, rising input costs and potential supply disruptions may become more visible in the coming months.