India rate cut to spur consumer spending

Mumbai

THE way car salesman Ashish Bhavsar tells it, in India, men come first on their own to eye up a potential purchase. Then they bring their wives. Then - if it's serious - the whole family.

On this weekday, almost two weeks after the central bank cut interest rates, a young boy and his elderly grandmother inspect a sports utility vehicle at a busy Hyundai Motor dealership in downtown Mumbai, while his parents speak to a sales agent nearby. That's good news for branch manager Bhavsar.