India, May 2 -- India's growth story is often told through large industries and headline indicators, but it is built every day by its smallest businesses. Across the country, millions of small merchants drive consumption, enable livelihoods and sustain local economies. From neighbourhood kirana stores to hardware retailers and service providers, they form the connective tissue of economic activity, linking supply with everyday demand in ways that are both immediate and deeply local.

Because they operate closest to the consumer, these businesses offer one of the most accurate real-time views into how the economy is evolving. Long before shifts show up in aggregated data, they are visible in how a shopkeeper stocks inventory, how frequentl...