Urban India

Geographical divide between urban and rural India far sharper than gender divide, it says

Time spent by women on 'learning' remained unchanged at 84 minutes during five years, while the time spent by men declined to 94 minutes from 102 minutes

The numbers also reflect a growing divide between rural and urban India when it comes to rents

It has been pointed out that metro train networks are expensive and not ideal unless commuting distances are long

52 per cent of people prefer apartments, according to Business Standard-Knight Frank report

Awareness about retirement planning has been rising in urban India with growing number of people feeling the need to start planning for their post-work life early, a report said. As much as 44 Indians consider the right age to start planning for retirement is before 35 years, as per the India Retirement Index Study (IRIS) released by Max Life Insurance. Encouragingly, 63 per cent respondents have already begun investing for retirement, leading to reduced concerns about meeting both basic and luxury needs, as well as securing their children's futures, it said. A notable 68 per cent of urban Indian working women have begun investing for retirement, it said. The study also highlights regional opportunities in retirement planning across India, with the east zone leading in overall preparedness, the west zone showing financial and health progress but needing emotional focus, and the north and south zones improving in health preparedness index, it said. "Although urban India's retiremen

The retirement index comprises three indices with the following weights: financial index (31 per cent), health index (61 per cent), and emotional index (8 per cent)

70% of urban Indian household surveyed likely to use stores and market for shopping

According to the report, shopping frequency has increased across channels, with more frequent visits to both modern trade and online platforms

Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday decided that state ministers will have to pay their Income Tax, instead of the state government bearing such burden. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in a statement said the cabinet has taken a decision to strike off the 1972 rule, under which the state government was paying the Income Tax on the salaries and perks of ministers. The cabinet decided that all ministers will pay the Income Tax on their salaries and allowances, Yadav said. State Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said during the cabinet meeting, the chief minister gave a suggestion that the ministers themselves pay their Income Tax. The suggestion was accepted and hence the decision was taken in this regard, he said.

Rural India remains a "bright star" for the growth of fast-moving consumer goods sales and the region is expected to maintain better pace of expansion than urban areas in the second quarter of 2024, a report said on Friday. According to a report from data, insights and consulting firm Kantar, rural India will maintain "better growth levels" racing ahead of the urban markets for FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies in the second quarter (April-June) of 2024. Terming the rural market as a "bright star", the report said it had a "resurgence" in 2024. While urban is likely to remain under stress, the rural may consolidate its position in second quarter of the year, it said. This growth in the rural areas is helped by region-centric measures by the government in the interim budget earlier this year, which provided stability. Moreover, populist measures are expected by some states which are going to face elections this year, said Kantar FMCG pulse report for Q2. "We should also b

The share of women in wage work was the highest in Q1 of FY21 at 61.2 per cent

While there is a consumption slowdown in urban markets and modern trade channels, rural markets and traditional trade registered an uptick, said NIQ

The lack of discounts and special offers in physical stores, along with large crowds in malls during weekends are some of the reasons why urban dwellers prefer to shop online

In the current wave of building smart cities, we must focus on creating equal cities that bridges the development divide between the core and the outskirts

Top honchos say urban demand continues to grow

A recent report by the State Bank of India (SBI) claimed that India's labour market including female employment is undergoing a structural transformation with self-entrepreneurship in 'all echelons'

Reasons like the proliferation of smartphones and access to the internet in smaller towns have also helped push up demand

But, compared to a month-back the rates are still over 207 per cent more