* Associate Professor, IIMT College of Management, Greater Noida, India.
** Assistant Professor, Advance Institute of Advanced Management, India.
Online published on 7 February, 2013.
India is on the march. Its momentum is not only evident in metros, it is apparent in small towns and villages as well. Collectively, all over India's rural heartland and in its teeming cities, India is readying for an even more impressive era of economic growth. There is no question that India's rural markets are becoming a powerful economic engine. One telltale sign rural accounts now comprise over 50 percent of new subscribers for some of the leading telecom providers. The rural multiplier effect is what excites policy makers and business leaders alike. For every new opportunity for a villager to use his mobile phone to protect his crops, there is a knock-on opportunity for him to purchase a small refrigerator or a motorcycle. There is a growing realization that global investment and growth will increasingly come from rural populations, as their savings translate into consumption. But rural India's contributions to the nation's economic success and the obvious potential for profitable growth is just a part of the promise of wholehearted commitment to doing business beyond the city centers and suburbs.
This paper talks about the growing business confidence in rural opportunities and the attractions and distractions of rural markets.
