Rural Income

Around 40 per cent of rural youth struggle to secure employment mainly due to lack of skills and language proficiency, stated a report by business process management company Vertex Global Services. One of the most significant barriers identified in a survey is the language proficiency gap, which particularly affects rural youth, the report said. The survey, which gathered insights from 1,200 youths and working individuals across five states - Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh - paints a clear picture of the potential for positive change, it said. The survey said that 33 per cent of the respondents highlighted the challenge of limited job opportunities in their region. This is compelling the youth to migrate from rural regions to urban centres in search of enhanced training and industry exposure as well as higher-paying jobs, it stated. About 27 per cent of respondents underscored financial constraints as one of the major challenges in securing good job ..

Panchayati Raj Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said 20.19 million property cards have been prepared till now

Initial data from NielsenIQ for October shows overall FMCG growth at 4-5 per cent, with volume growth at around 3 per cent and price growth at just 1-2 per cent

Digital platforms are playing an increasingly vital role in reaching and engaging consumers. From payments and e-commerce to gaming and lifestyle content, the digital landscape is expanding rapidly

The Kantar and GroupM study highlights a nearly 60 per cent growth in the average FMCG basket size for rural consumers, increasing from 5.8 in 2022 to 9.3 in 2024

While rural demand has shown an uptick, rising food inflation and a slowdown in credit growth pose challenges, potentially dampening the country's growth in the second quarter of 2024-25

A large proportion of youth aged 18-25 years who have never been employed do not aspire to join the workforce, possibly due to the challenging state of rural economy and limited non-farm opportunities

There are two distinct political narratives in the country today--one giving voice to an "aspiring India" and the other to a "hopeless India". Both factions have their work cut out

The government's focus on improving the state of agriculture in India and several initiatives taken by it to drive higher rural incomes are likely to support to sustain the tractor demand momentum despite industry sales witnessing a decline of 7 per cent, according to Swaraj Engines Ltd. The company, which supplies diesel engines for tractors manufactured by M&M Swaraj Division, in its annual report for 2023-24, said the growing horticultural segment in the country also offers good opportunities to increase tractor penetration in the lower horsepower (HP) market. "The domestic tractor industry for FY24 at 8,75,700 units registered a degrowth of 7 per cent over last year's (FY23) 9,45,300 units mainly because of erratic and uneven rainfall distribution that impacted kharif output, coupled with the high industry base of FY23," it said. On the outlook and opportunities, Swaraj Engines in its management discussion and analysis said factors like increasing affordability with adequate ..

These states had the highest percentage of households who availed work under the scheme in the last 10 years in proportion to the total households availing employment under the scheme

The Indian FMCG industry experienced a 6.5 per cent growth in volume terms at a national level in the January-March period of 2024, with rural consumption surpassing urban for the first time in five quarters, according to consumer intelligence firm NielsenIQ. Both food and non-food sectors contributed to the growth in consumption in the first quarter of 2024, but non-food saw almost double the growth as compared to food, NielsenIQ (NIQ) said in its quarterly snapshot for Q1 2024. The FMCG industry has experienced a 6.6 per cent growth in value, attributed to a 6.5 per cent increase in volume at an all-India level. The volume growth for this quarter was higher than Q1 2023, which stood at 3.1 per cent, it added. NIQ Head of Customer Success India, Roosevelt Dsouza said, "The FMCG industry's growth continues to be driven by consumption trends in Q12024 with rural areas surpassing urban growth for the first time in five quarters." Notably, Dsouza said home and personal care (HPC) ...

Consumer sentiment in rural India highest since Dec 2019

As crop woes hit farm incomes, austerity defined the mood in India's villages, impacting small stores and FMCG giants alike

Two-wheelers are a necessity for getting around, while a four-wheeler is a distant dream for now, with hired cars catering to needs like family trips to nearby cities

Chand said NITI Aayog is working on the new development model for India with the same focus on boosting incomes from the rural non-farm sector

Rating agency ICRA pointed out that the domestic tractor industry volumes remained healthy and represented a 12 percent YoY growth in FY2023, touching an all-time high of 9.45 lakh units

The Union Rural Development Ministry on Thursday said there was no constraint of funds for the rural job scheme MGNREGA and reiterated that funds for West Bengal were not released due to non-compliance of central directives. In a statement, the ministry said, "Funds of State of West Bengal have been stopped from March 9, 2022 as per provision of Section 27 of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 due to non-compliance of directives of Central Government." The statement came on a day West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress conducted a march to the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata to protest against the Centre over MGNREGA dues. The TMC had also staged protests in Delhi on October 3 and 4 demanding release of funds by the Centre. In its statement, the ministry said that by October 4, Rs 56,105.69 crore out of the Rs 60,000 crore budget for the scheme has been released. "Availability of funds is not a constraint for the implementation of the programme," it said. The mini

Inventory days and credit days on the rise

Nestle expands ready to eat line with a+ Masala Millets

The country's rural demand is vulnerable and could be further impacted by the "dual blows" of lower income and high food inflation due to an erratic monsoon, according to a domestic rating agency. The upcoming festivities may lead to a rise in consumption demand but such an increase will depend on the extent of the skewed monsoon impact, CareEdge Ratings said in a report released on Tuesday. Consumption, including rural demand, is considered an important factor influencing the overall GDP growth in the country. Some FMCG players have already flagged concerns on the rural demand front. "Rural demand remains vulnerable and can be hit by a dual blow of higher food inflation and lower income," the rating agency said. It said the risk to farm income remains high as uneven distribution of monsoon has affected the sowing of certain crops and can adversely affect yields. The cost of living is also rising due to high food inflation and expected hit to agriculture due to an erratic monsoon,