Rural Economy

Urban demand needs an upward spiral: ITC Executive Director Bhargavan

Company is focusing on multi-dimensional levers to drive growth while staying the course on product launches, says ITC's Executive Director Bhargavan

Rural India's appetite for FMCG grows by 60%; what's behind the surge?

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

UP govt holds talks with World Bank to boost agri, rural enterprise

The Uttar Pradesh government, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and the World Bank on Friday held negotiations for the Rs 3,903 crore Uttar Pradesh Agricultural Growth and Rural Enterprise Ecosystem Strengthening project. The negotiations were held in New Delhi with Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh representing the state government, according to a statement here. The six-year project aims to revitalise the state's agriculture and allied sectors, enhance productivity and link smallholder farmers to high-value commodity clusters. Singh outlined the project's pivotal role in advancing the state's vision to achieve a trillion-dollar economy by 2030, it said. He highlighted that the project will support high-value crop clusters and establish a stronger fisheries ecosystem, with particular focus on the state's eastern and Bundelkhand regions, it added. The project will also create a digital agriculture platform to provide real-time insights to farmers, helping optimise resources

Crop prices show mixed trend in relation to their respective MSPs

Though food inflation has been running high largely due to a spike in vegetable prices, when it comes to cereals, oilseeds and pulses the picture is slightly mixed

ICAR should focus on converting waste to wealth, urges Prez Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday asserted that secondary agriculture could significantly enhance the rural economy, urging the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to focus on converting waste into wealth. "Secondary agriculture has the potential to boost the rural economy. ICAR should work towards this goal to increase farmers' income," she said while addressing the centenary celebrations of the ICAR-National Institute of Secondary Agriculture (NISA) here as the chief guest. Highlighting the export potential of Indian lac, which is in high demand in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, the President noted that Jharkhand accounts for 55 per cent of the country's total lac production. "Jharkhand's lac production is a vital source of income for the tribal community," she emphasised. Murmu also expressed her deep respect for the region, saying, "Visiting the land of tribal icon Birsa Munda feels like a pilgrimage to me." Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Governor Santo

Retail inflation for farm workers eases to 5.96%, rural labourers to 6.08%

Retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers eased to 5.96 per cent and 6.08 per cent, respectively, in August against the comparative figures of 6.17 per cent and 6.20 per cent recorded in July this year. The All-India Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) registered an increase of 7 points each in August 2024, reaching levels of 1297 and 1309, respectively. The CPI-AL and CPI-RL were 1290 points and 1302 points, respectively, in July. "The year-on-year inflation rates based on CPI-AL and CPIRL for this month (August 2024) were recorded at 5.96 per cent and 6.08 per cent, compared to 7.37 per cent and 7.12 per cent in August, 2023. The corresponding figures for July, 2024 were 6.17 per cent for CPI-AL and 6.20 per cent for CPI-RL," a labour ministry statement said.

Rural volumes likely to overtake urban by FY25-end, says Kantar report

Kantar report says rural growth largely led by rise in population rather than consumption

Budget 2024: Consumer goods firms may see an upswing after year of lull

Announcements may put more money in hands of taxpayers boosting consumer demand

Budget focuses on review of agri research setup, new phase of rural roads

The shrimp sector gets big leg with duty cuts and new breeding centers

Budget 2024 Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present the Union Budget on Tuesday

Union Budget 2024: As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget on Tuesday, markets expect tax cuts, infra spending, and a boost to rural demand. Stay with us for all updates

Nestle, VBL, Godrej Cons: Nuvama picks these FMCG stocks on robust outlook

The rural markets have outpaced urban demand, registering a 7.6 per cent increase compared to a 5.7 percent rise in urban areas, in the March quarter of FY24

Uttar Pradesh govt eases credit flow to startups, rural companies

The state plans to fund about 8,300 enterprises under two credit schemes: Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarojgar Yojana and Mukhyamantri Gramodyog Rojgar Yojana

Pakistan's donkey population rises to 5.9 million in FY23-24: Survey

Pakistan's population of donkeys has increased by 1.72 per cent to reach 5.9 million during the fiscal year 2023-24, according to the latest official data on the livestock in the agrarian country. The Pakistan Economic Survey (PES) 2023-24, which highlights the key economic achievements in the outgoing fiscal year, was launched on Tuesday. It showed the donkey population has been increasing. The data shows that the population of the "beasts of burden" was 5.5 million in 2019-2020, 5.6 million in 2020-21, 5.7 million in 2021-22, and 5.8 million in 2022-23, while it jumped to 5.9 million in 2023-24. However, horses and mules, the close cousins of donkeys, were less fortunate, and there has been no change in their numbers for the last five years, which remained at 0.4 million and 0.2 million, respectively. Donkeys may be the last hope for many Pakistanis, especially those living in the countryside, where the rural economy is closely associated with the animals. The survey unveiled by

Consumption inequality up in rural areas of 11 states in past decade: HCES

The rise in Gini coefficient was sharpest in Nagaland, followed by Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh

Cost, speed top priority for logistics sector: Last-mile trends report 2024

Cost and speed has now become the top priority of the firms engaged in logistics business for the last-mile delivery of goods and growth of the sector, a report has said. According to the Last-Mile Trends Report 2024, earlier the top priority was cost and satisfaction. "In last-mile delivery now top priority is cost and speed. The needle has shifted from cost and satisfaction to cost and speed," it said. The report was unveiled during 'The Last Mile Leaders Event" organised by technology platform FarEye in collaboration with Microsoft this week. Kushal Nahata, Co-founder and CEO of FarEye, said that within the next five years, autonomous drones will handle 30 per cent of urban deliveries, reducing delivery times and costs dramatically. The report was based on insights gathered from over 300 leaders across five continents, representing companies with a combined revenue exceeding USD 100 billion. Out of 300 participants, over 50 per cent stated that they deliver the goods same day/

The entertainment consumption story

The poor rates of growth and the fact that a large chunk of poor urban and rural India is switching to free TV are indicative of something

India's consumption story gets a facelift as rural demand shows promise

FMCG companies have also witnessed a pick-up in rural areas.

Tractor sales drop by 4% in FY24, signalling rural economic trouble

Maharashtra recorded a 33% drop, Karnataka 21%, and Telangana 36% in tractor sales. This decline can be attributed to erratic weather conditions and insufficient rainfall

Rural India's Budget expectations

There is a need to reduce stress in agriculture and increase demand to ensure sustainable growth

Not only rural, urban FMCG sales also slipped late last year: Bizom

The research agency said that urban growth was down 2.1 per cent in the quarter ended December compared to the same quarter last year, and the same was down 0.5 per cent in the previous month