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Electronic toll collection in the country soared to a record Rs 6,114.92 crore in October this year as economic activity surged during the festive month, according to the latest figures compiled by the government. 

The collection is the highest ever in a month since the compiling of electronic toll data started in 2021 and represents a 7.6 per cent increase over the monthly average of Rs 5,681.46 crore for the previous six months, the official figures showed.

Total electronic toll collection in the country in the first six months of this financial year stood at Rs 34,088.77 crore, up 9.8 per cent from Rs 31,026.64 crore a year.

The surge in toll collection is also supported by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) data on e-way bill generation for the transportation of goods across the country which soared to a record high of 11.7 crore during October, representing a 17 per cent jump over the same month of the previous year.

The surge in e-way bills reflects the increase in economic activity as the manufacturing sector accelerates to meet the growing demand in the economy during the festive season.

The sharp rise in e-way bills leads to higher tax revenues in a buoyant economy, placing more resources in the hands of the government to invest in large infrastructure projects to spur growth and carry out its social welfare schools to uplift the poor.

India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose to Rs 1.87 lakh crore in October, the second-highest monthly revenue since the GST system was introduced in 2017. The figure represents an 8.9 per cent increase over the same month last year and comes on top of Rs 1.73 lakh crore collection in September, which had grown 6.5% year-on-year.

The figures are also in line with the HSBC survey, released earlier this week, which showed that India’s manufacturing sector growth accelerated in October, fuelled by faster increases in total new orders and international sales leading to the creation of more jobs during the month.

The upturn in performance was boosted by stronger demand for Indian goods. Companies noted a quicker increase in order book volumes that was stronger than the average seen in nearly 20 years of data collection. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the introduction of new products and successful marketing initiatives helped enhance sales performances, the report said.

The rise in e-way bills generation, driven by an increase in transport activity, also matches the growth captured in the HSBC PMI survey for the services sector. Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said: "India’s services PMI recovered from its ten-month low in September to reach 58.5 last month. During October, the Indian services sector experienced strong expansions in output and consumer demand, as well as job creation, which achieved a 26-month high.”