Page 2 - Rural Income

Tightened belts, half-filled shelves: The story of rural retail demand

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

Signs of distress: Rich villages go easy on discretionary spending

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

India needs rural model that focuses on income from non-farm sources: Chand

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

Domestic tractor sales likely to pick up in the second half of 2023-24

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

No constraint of funds for rural job scheme MGNREGA, says Centre

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

FMCG items start to pile up in supply chain as demand starts to taper off

Inventory days and credit days on the rise

Weak monsoon may impact rural demand: Nestle India CMD Suresh Narayanan

Nestle expands ready to eat line with a+ Masala Millets

Rural demand vulnerable due to higher food inflation, lower income: Report

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,

Sitharaman directs NABARD to make rural income improvement top priority

Sitharaman directed NABARD to facilitate the aggregation of organic producers by Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), with a focus on the Northeast states

Retail inflation for farm, rural workers rises to 6.85% in January

Retail inflation for farm and rural workers rose to 6.85 per cent and 6.88 per cent, respectively, in January, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. The inflation readings for farm and rural workers stood at 6.38 per cent and 6.60 per cent, respectively, in December 2022. In January last year, the inflation numbers for farm and rural workers was at 5.49 per cent and 5.74 per cent, respectively. "Point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index Agricultural Labourers) and CPI-RL (Rural Labourers) stood at 6.85 per cent & 6.88 per cent in January 2023 compared to 6.38 per cent & 6.60 per cent, respectively in December 2022 and 5.49 per cent," the labour ministry said in a statement on Monday. Food inflation rose to 6.61 per cent and 6.47 per cent, respectively, last month from 5.89 per cent and 5.76 per cent, respectively, in December 2022. For farm and rural workers, the food inflation stood at 4.15 per cent and 4.33 per cent, ...

Rural wage growth trailing inflation, govt should continue support: Report

Rural wage growth is trailing inflation and the government needs to continue with policy support to help people in the mofussil areas, a credit information company said on Thursday. In a report, Crif High Mark observed that rural wages are unable to keep pace with rising inflation and sought continued interventions from the policy front on this. with rising rural inflation, decline in real rural wages and slowing rural demand, it is important for the government and policymakers to continue their support to the rural sector, it said. Rural inflation had remained above urban inflation in the first half of 2022, it said, adding that rural consumption declined and average rural unemployment decreased. The rural business confidence index, which takes inputs from macroeconomic indices, credit bureau data and the survey of companies operating in the rural areas, grew by nearly 10 points to 73.5 in 2022. The government has focused on providing relief and credit flow to small business and

FMCG industry expects recovery in rural growth, consumer spending on track

The FMCG industry expects the government's special focus on the agriculture sector in the Union Budget 2023-24 would help to regain rural growth while providing more disposable income to the middle class and reviving volume growth. Terming the budget as "progressive and growth-oriented", leading FMCG companies such as Dabur, PepsiCo, Marico, Godrej Consumer, Mars, Wipro Enterprises, and Parle Products said, it has potential to revive the demand and propel long-term economic growth. "It's a positive and favourable budget, with the government's emphasis on infrastructure, technology, and entrepreneurship boosting economic growth. On the other hand, farmer-centric programmes, last-mile connectivity, and digitisation will further contribute to the FMCG sector's multiplier effect," said PepsiCo India President Ahmed ElSheikh. Dabur India CEO Mohit Malhotra said the proposal for a 33 per cent increase in overall capital expenditure outlay on infrastructure development will take India ...

States' MGNREGA under probe for potential financial misappropriation

Some states have been using more than permitted MGNREGA funds to build rural infrastructure instead of generating livelihood opportunities for rural needy, says Central government

Increasing work on individual land under MGNREGA a boon to rural income?

In total, around 6.41 million works under individual land has been undertaken in 2021-22 financial year, of which Bihar leads the pack.

What is MGNREGA scheme?

Amid rising cost of living and decreasing job opportunities, people in rural India are falling back on MGNREGA to earn their daily bread. Our next report tells more about this flagship scheme of govt

Are revival signs of rural economy for real or is it too early to call?

Many non-official parameters do indicate a rebound, but high inflation seems to hitting hard, eroding all gains

Budget 2022: Weak demand-led rural stress to continue for FMCG firms

The MNREGA allocation did not come on expected lines but companies expect it to get revised during the year

Cabinet nod for mobile connectivity in 7,287 uncovered villages: COAI

The Cabinet approval for provisioning of mobile connectivity in 7,287 uncovered villages across five states will help bridge the digital divide and provide stimulus to the rural economy, COAI said

Retail inflation for farm, rural workers eases marginally in August

Retail inflation for farm and rural workers eased marginally to 3.9 per cent and 3.97 per cent, respectively in August

Non-farm activities need a big push to boost rural incomes, say experts

Incomes from crop production have dropped while wages have become the mainstay for rural households, experts say