| (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) For the first time since the lockdown came in to effect in March this year, the Goods and Services tax posted an uptick in September. The ₹95,480 crore collected last month is 4% higher than the same month last year. Exports also grew by over 5% and the index for manufacturing also showed a growth trend. The auto industry, which had been in the doldrums even before the lockdown, has got a breather with wholesale sales of passenger vehicles bouncing up. The GST and manufacturing numbers point to economic activity picking up pace, after the 23.9% contraction in GDP in the first quarter of 2020-21. Another indicator of this is that power production also went up in September. However, the overall GST collection for this financial year so far remains short by about 25%. Also, there are wide variations among the larger manufacturing States in the GST growth numbers, with Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu posting solid growth while Maharashtra remained flat and Karnataka dropped. Though revenue has grown, the toll of the lockdown on people remains high, with another reduction in payroll numbers. Employment numbers have been falling for six months. The overall revenue shortfall and the falling employment numbers suggest that India is not near solid ground. However, the larger revenue collection for September is a welcome relief amid the blooming fiscal deficit and the looming clash between the Centre and States over GST distribution, making this story important. | 
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