After two years of subdued festivities, markets once again teemed with keen shoppers last October. Diwali was celebrated with usual pre-pandemic fervour. And sales figures, which are coming out now, clearly attest to it — like auto sales jumped by 48%. The prime festival month saw 18.3% growth in total non-food credit offtake. Retail loans — driven by robust housing and vehicle loans demand — saw an impressive 20% jump. So what explains this surge in personal loans? We crunch the numbers for you in this podcast.