The advent of liberalization has thrown up a plethora of opportunities for companies to spread their wings to the hinterland. Rural India, with its rising incomes and changing patterns of buying, is looking forward to experience the nuances of the consumer world. Tapping rural markets with the strategies that suit them has become a major challenge for most of the companies.

The real essence of India lies in its rural villages. More than 700 million of Indian population live in 6,38,365 villages. More than 50% of our national income is generated by rural India. Rural India is witnessing a rise in its income and consumption over the past four years due to regular rains, continuous growth in agri output, and awareness among the villagers about alternative sources of income. This in turn is supported by government initiatives. The union budget for 2009-10 hiked the allocation for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to $8.03 bn. This is in addition to the $13.86 bn farm loan waiver and $34.84 bn allocated for improving rural infrastructure under the Bharat Nirman Program.

According to a recent study by the Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI), the rural economy has not been affected by the global recession and a study conducted by Mckinsey in 2007 says that rural market would grow almost four times its existing size.

This gives a plethora of opportunities for firms to tap rural markets. Corporates realizing the saturation, competition and clutter in the urban markets, are in search of greener pastures. This has led to companies expressing interests in rural markets, which were untapped. But marketing the products in rural areas poses a great challenge.

Global CEO Magazine, Bharat Nirman Program, Rural Marketing Association of India, RMAI, Rural Economy, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, FMCGs, National Rural Health Mission, NRHM, Nicholas Piramal India Limited, NPIL, Confederation of Indian Industries, CII, Marketing Strategies, Microfinance Institutions, MFIs.