Rural India

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted fintech’s role in financial inclusion and digitising credit access, while also emphasising India’s self-funded green transition amid global energy challenges.

Rural India's FMCG basket grows 60% in two years: Report

Growing preference for convenience products and diversity in income groups are among the reasons for the growth in demand of FMCG goods

Rising microfinance defaults: Oversupply of credit more to blame than stress in rural India

Measurement of household income in such informal occupations like poultry or dairy farming was a matter of believing the borrower or the MFI agent who was often anxious to meet targets

Without development of rural India, difficult to achieve Viksit Bharat goal by 2047: CAG

Noting that decentralisation of power has not taken to the extent it should have happened, he said, gram sabha or rural bodies are yet to get its due importance in the federal structure.

Rural Consumption: Where are the gaps, asks Economic Survey 2023-24

The key takeaway from the Survey about rural consumption is that it is doing as well as it can and the main efforts should be focused on providing the masses with the right infrastructure, business opportunities, diversifying away from problem areas and encouraging more private investment in agriculture

Union Budget 2024: Rural India needs policy support to become resilient

Budget 2024-25 needs to address rural distress in the short term and provide a solid statement on long-term economic policy that strengthens the sector

Charticle: Key takeaways from India's household consumption expenditure survey

India's fact sheet on the latest Household Consumer Expenditure Survey on February 24 revealed that per capita monthly consumption expenditure in rural areas was 40% higher in 2022-23 at Rs 2,008, while it was up 33% in urban areas at Rs 3,510 after adjusting for inflation

Does the consumption of the poor really matter?

Overall growth in private consumption has been strong even in years that saw a shrinkage in real rural wages

Coming Soon! A prepaid card for the Bharat market from RuPay and Payworld

Payworld has so far disbursed around Rs 15 crore of loans presently and has a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of around Rs 12,000 crore grown by around 30% year on Year. Payworld expects to grow at a rate of 50% and more in the coming years

As India's electrical grid strains, rural hospitals, clinics find reliable power in rooftop solar

While India currently relies heavily on coal for its electricity, it has a target of installing 450 gigawatts of renewable energy that should account for about half its needs by the end of this decade. Rapid increase in solar, especially rooftop solar, will be necessary to meet that goal.

Over 95% people have access to potable water in rural areas: Report

The primary objective of the MIS was to collect data for generation of some important national indicators of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

When will rural FMCG demand recover? The answer lies in purchasing power

While higher farm prices can improve farm income, the real impetus for rural demand recovery can only come if wages grow ahead of inflation

SBI report says agriculture making gains, but why is rural wage growth so poor?

Farmers’ income rose by as much as 1.3-1.7 times during 2017-18 to 2021-22. Those cultivating cash crops did even better with their income doubling during the period 

Prospects for rural FMCG demand revival don’t look bright, yet 

While a good monsoon forecast and higher MSPs are good signs, they may not be sufficient to pull rural demand out of a hole

Labour participation rate higher in rural India: CMIE

LPR, defined as the number of persons of the labour force employed as a percentage of working age population, is 40.9 in rural India as compared to 37.4 in urban India during the period January to April 2022.

Parle Products witnesses revival in rural demand as consumers limp back to normal

Consumers have started venturing out as the third wave ebbs, says firm.

Budget 2022 | Steps for rural, agriculture and EVs to benefit auto sector

The announcements by the Government of India in Budget 2022 will revive consumption through employment generation, investment in infrastructure development, and rural economy 

A rural growth slowdown is not the main problem facing FMCG stocks

Rural growth is slowing, but listed companies seem unfazed by it. It may be a non-issue for them, but there is a bigger problem lying in wait

CII, Serum Institute of India join hands for vaccination drive in small towns, rural areas

As per a pan India survey by the Indian Industry, it was revealed that there is a requirement of over 7 million single dose vaccines.

COVID-19 | Vaccine hesitancy puts India's gains against virus at risk

There is still widespread hesitancy fueled by misinformation and mistrust, particularly in rural areas where two-thirds of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion population lives. Health workers face stiff resistance from people who believe that vaccines cause impotence, serious side effects and could even kill. Some simply say they do not need the shots because they're immune to the coronavirus.

India's healthcare system is bursting at the seams as brutal COVID-19 wave spreads to small towns

The second COVID-19 wave has reached India's small towns and the countryside, ripping through a fragile health system not equipped to deal with such a large public health crisis.

Global concern grows as COVID-19 variant ravages rural India

The second wave erupted in February, inundating hospitals and medical staff, as well as crematoriums and mortuaries.

‘A hell out here’: COVID-19 ravages rural India

Deaths grew by a record 4,205 while infections rose 348,421 in the 24 hours to Wednesday, taking the tally past 23 million, health ministry data showed. Experts believe the actual numbers could be five to 10 times higher.

Zoho has helped restore talent in villages: Sridhar Vembu 

Zoho Schools of Learning, a program that trains and hires students who have completed Class 12th or a diploma course, has helped enhance social skills and has given them the confidence to find a job outside of Zoho.