Studies which appeared in the recent past suggesting that the FMCG products are successfully penetrating into the rural markets raise a number of questions about the living standards and the lifestyles of the people in rural India. They appeared to be either incomprehensive or lacked serious consideration about the nature, scope and extent of rural markets. This article calls for a holistic look at the income of rural India against the backdrop of FMCG products expanding into our hinterlands.

It is true that approximately 70- 80% of the population in India lives in more than 6,00,000 villages spread across the country whose uneven terrain is embedded with mountains, forests, rivers, plains and dry lands including a desert in the North West (Kisholoy Roy, 2008). According to 2001 census, 71% of the population resides in rural areas and 29% lives in the urban areas. This appears to be a very wide and promising market, against the backdrop of saturating markets in the urban settings (CSG Krishnamacharyulu and Lalitha Ramakrishnan, 2006a) though many studies that predicted the expansion of rural markets lacked realistic perspective and factual data. Most of the studies had taken into consideration the data provided by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) drawn in the year 1995-96. Even the data on Micro Impact of Macro and Adjustment Policies (MIMAP) quoted by Krishnamacharyulu and Lalitha Ramakrishnan relate to data as old as 1995-96 and even older. The only latest data regarding the percentage of population below poverty line, quoted in Krishnamacharyulu and Lalitha Ramakrishnan, is based on the National Sample Survey of 1999-2000, published in April 2001.

Further, most of the studies concentrated on the topographical distribution of the villages and spread of the population across India, though some authors have highlighted the necessity to delve deep into this very important factor, from time to time. As a result, the marketing strategies that were spoken about and the FMCG goods quoted to be penetrating and selling more in the rural markets did not really reflect the facts at the rural level.

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