Dimensions of Rural Marketing

As per 2018 data India has a population of 1.354 billion out of which rural population is 65.97% as per World Bank indicator.

In India, the rural households form about 72 percent of the total households. This is a huge market by world standards.1

The Indian rural market is much larger when compared to the urban market in terms of population and number of households. But the rural areas are characterised by low per capita income, low literacy, average agricultural productivity, and low level of industrialisation. These characteristics of rural India limit its capacity for consumption. These characteristics of rural India limit its capacity for consumption of goods and services compared to any advanced and developed country. Under the Five Year Plans and other special programmes, government has been trying to increase its business opportunities in rural sector and so today the rural market offers a vast untapped potential in the fields of agriculture, health, education, communication, rural electrification etc.