The coming rural boom

The waters of rural India have been tested, and it can be concluded that the boom has only begun and it is there to stay with the certainty of positive growth.

No stone can be left unturned in pursuit of great things, and to leave bigger stones unturned in the process is to risk accomplishment. In a country where two-thirds of its people live in rural areas, undermining the potential of rural markets can only warrant tardy growth of the economy and thus denying its people what they deserve. 
It also stands true for companies as well; to shy away from making efforts to penetrate rural markets or failing to tap the markets is to miss out on the benefits they could sow and harvest. The true health of an economy is reflected in the state of its rural economy. The opposite picture of marvelous growth in the urban of a country and an economic failure in its rural spells troubles in the economy and its poor economic plans and policies. 

We are at a time when the desire of rural population for urban goods and services creates tremendous opportunities for Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators in India, creating new markets in the hinterlands of the country. According to a finding, 70 percent of DTH subscribers are from villages and small towns in India. Whereas only 2-3 percent of DTH subscribes come from major metros like Delhi and Mumbai.

On the telecommunication front, rural India has witnessed a telecommunication boom. According to India Rural Development Report, prepared by IDFC Rural Development Network, the overall rural teledensity is bound to rise and the National Telecom Policy envisions that it will increase.

This vast growth has been mainly due to mobile telephony, which in turn has benefited from intense competition.

Companies have realized that there is even potential in marginal farmers' community which makes up 80 percent farmers of India. It has brought ahuge opportunity to the small global and local tractor manufacturing companies. The trend has motivated tractor manufacturers to adopt all sorts of business models to penetrate the segment.

Many have discerned this potential and soon they will transform rural areas a hub which accommodates diverse players. What is required is the involvement of many more and enhancing what is already in place. This calls for more investments, developing diverse business models to serve largerchunk of the population only to reap benefits.

The waters of rural India have been tested, and it can be concluded that the boom has only begun and it is there to stay with the certainty of positive growth.