Indian Independence Day boosts sales

Economists predict India's headline inflation rate will slightly ease to a year on year rise of 10.4 per cent for July.

However, that fall would only be because of a surge in prices for the same month last year. It would not really reflect weaker inflation.

Those price rises will have been hard to ignore this past week as India geared up for the 63rd anniversary of India's independence on Sunday - a public holiday that has become so associated with shopping it is the busiest day of the year for many stores.

Shilpa Kannan reports.