Economic impact of the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025

The Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s largest and most significant religious gatherings, holds profound spiritual importance while simultaneously acting as a powerful economic engine.

What is the Kumbh Mela?

Rooted in Indian mythology and tradition, the Kumbh Mela takes place once every 4 years at one of four locations: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik. According to Hindu astrology, the pilgrimage is linked to the celestial alignment of Jupiter, the Sun, and the Moon. Symbolising spiritual cleansing, the event attracts millions of devotees, saints, and international visitors.

What is the impact?

The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 (13 January 2025 – 26 February 2025) is set to host an estimated 400 million devotees from India and around the world. The event’s estimated budget for management and infrastructure development is ₹6,382 crore ($800 million), a significant 72% increase compared to the 2019 Kumbh budget.

With approximately 80% of the anticipated 40–45 crore devotees expected to spend between ₹6,000–8,000 each as per Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the Kumbh Mela is poised to generate financial transactions totaling ₹2–2.5 lakh crore ($25–30 billion) over 45 days. This amount is equivalent to an estimated ~0.8% of India’s GDP.

Maha Kumbh 2025 as the name suggests also explains its growth over the last decade. Tourists are expected to grow by 5x with overall spending on the event expected to grow by 20x when comparing the current festive event with the one held in 2013.

Source: CAIT, Media articles

Which sectors could benefit most?

Tourism and hospitality

The Maha Kumbh Mela attracts millions of visitors, including over 1 million foreign tourists, generating a surge in foreign exchange earnings. The government is expected to invest ~₹5,000 crore in tourism infrastructure, improving roads, railways, airports, and lodging facilities to accommodate the growing number of visitors. This is expected to generate revenues to the tune of ₹40,000 crore as per CAIT.

Retail and consumer goods

Turnover estimates suggest that daily necessities for the devotees will generate a turnover of approximately ₹20,000 crore as per CAIT. Key product categories expected to contribute include groceries (₹4,000 crore), edible oils (₹1,000 crore), and milk products (₹4,000 crore), among others.

Religious & handicraft items

Retailers will see a sharp increase in sales of religious items, food, clothing, and souvenirs to tune of ₹20,000 crore, while handicraft items are set to generate ₹5,000 crore as per CAIT.

Transportation & helicopter service

For the first time, a helicopter service will offer pilgrims a breathtaking aerial tour of the Maha Kumbh area. With each trip priced at ₹5,000 per devotee, the service is projected to around 7,000 visitors daily. Over 45 days, the helicopter service alone is estimated to generate revenue exceeding ₹157 crore, averaging ₹3.5 crore per day. Overall transportation services are expected to generate revenue to the tune of ₹10,000 crore.

Insights for investors

The Maha Kumbh Mela is expected to not only boost regional infrastructure but also foster regional tourism. With almost ₹2.5 lakh crores expected to be spent, this will also boost consumption demand. Overall sectors which are going to benefit from this mega event are tourism, infrastructure, FMCG, consumer goods, and transportation. Eventually this will also give the state a major boost for developing more infrastructure for development as this mega event brings revenue to the state also in the form of taxes.