Rural India

Name changer or game changer? MGNREGA replaced with 125-day promise

President Murmu clears the Viksit Bharat Rozgar Act, raising guaranteed rural workdays to 125 and overhauling funding norms, seasonality rules, and budget limits

MGNREGA work demand dips during peak sowing and harvest time, shows data

MGNREGA data show work demand typically dipped between July and November over the past 10 years before rising from December

Centre planned to modify MGNREGA over repeated complaints: Shivraj Chouhan

Government introduces VB G-RAM-G bill in Parliament to replace MGNREGA amid strong opposition protest

Centre proposes renaming MGNREGA to VB-G RaM G, to change funding pattern

The Centre has proposed renaming MGNREGA as VB-RaM G, raising guaranteed workdays to 125 and shifting the funding pattern to 60:40, drawing criticism over diluted worker protections

Explained: Why govt wants to replace MGNREGA with VB-G RAM G after 20 years

The draft VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025 seeks to replace MNREGA to offer 125 days of rural work, focus on durable assets, improve transparency, and align employment schemes with rural economy and needs

BSE, India Post ink agreement to take mutual fund deeper into rural India

With over 164,000 post offices, India Post is expected to provide last-mile connectivity, helping push investor education and access to modern financial products

Villages now lead India's manufacturing output, urban share falls below 50%

The latest Annual Survey of Industries 2023-24 shows that it was at 49.5 per cent, the fourth year in a row that urban areas have been a minority contributor to manufacturing output

Indian firms turn to small-town markets insulated from US tariffs

Consumption growth in India's countryside has outpaced that in urban markets for six straight quarters, according to data analytics firm NielsenIQ

Insurance product for rural India to be launched this year: Industry body

Bima Vistaar, an insurance product covering life, health and property for rural people, is likely to be launched by December 2025, an industry organisation said on Wednesday. Life Insurance Council's Insurance Awareness Committee (IAC-Life) chairperson Kamlesh Rao said the products meant for rural India will be sold by all insurance companies at a uniform price with Rs 5 lakh cover per individual. The council has all 26 life insurance companies, including Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), as its members. Rao said that the product will be launched to increase the penetration of insurance in the rural belts of the country. "Penetration is lower in rural India. Bima Vistaar will be launched, targeting an increase in the insurance penetration in rural India," he said. Talking of the life insurance industry in the country, Rao said total assets under management (AUM) of all the insurers had touched Rs 67 lakh crore during the 2024-25 financial year, while the total premium collected ha

Turning crop waste into rural gold: Biomass co-firing needs policy push

India generates over 500 million tonnes of agricultural residues annually.

2 out of 5 Indians have health insurance, gap worse in rural India: Report

Millions without adequate cover as awareness, affordability and access issues persist, it says

Bringing investment to rural sector key priority: IFAD president

Bringing investment to the rural sector is a key priority for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), President Alvaro Lario said, adding that investment in agriculture is two to three times more effective in reducing poverty than in any other sector. In an interview with PTI, Lario stressed on the importance of bringing private capital to the rural sector, and said that globally, investments worth around USD 75 billion is required to adapt to the impact of climate change. Founded in 1977 in response to a global food crisis, IFAD is a specialised United Nations agency and an international financial institution that tackles hunger and poverty in rural communities. "IFAD's priority is to mobilize financing, especially long-term financing for rural areas and especially to have and deliver a long-lasting impact for those who need it most," Lario told PTI. "So for us, finance is a means to an end and we know that investment in agriculture is two to three times more .

74% rural households expect income growth in 1 year: Nabard survey

Forecast of 'above normal' southwest monsoon in 2025 that would boost farm growth and rising consumption demand in rural India has fuelled the positive change in the rural sector

Darkness to Disruption: This CEO is Lighting Up Rural India and Africa

In this episode of Manager’s Mantra, Manoj Sinha, CEO of Husk Power Systems and TIME100 Climate Leader, shares how renewable energy and AI are lighting up rural India.

Grameen Credit Score framework likely to be launched in next 3 months

The GCS is expected to serve as a supplementary tool to existing credit bureaus, allowing banks, microfinance institutions, and other lenders to better evaluate the creditworthiness of rural borrowers

Saarathi Finance raises ₹475 cr to boost MSME lending in rural India

TVS Capital, Lok Capital and others back newly licensed NBFC to expand credit access for underserved MSMEs in semi-urban and rural India, valuing firm at ₹900 crore

Global farm firms come together to train 500,000 rural entrepreneurs

The academy, which has been set up with a starting capital of $3 million, will seek to address critical challenges in smallholder farming

Time spent by Indians on leisure, mass media up by 16 minutes: Survey

NSO's latest survey says the time spent on these activities rose to 159 mins a day in 2024

Full market potential of digital space a long way to harness: Report

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

Will Budget tax relief help BJP energise Delhi's middle class voters?

Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?