Lines are blurring in Urban and Rural Markets

The start of a new government usually indicates beginning of new policies and paves the way for better agendas and economic reforms. This year the focus has been on reforming rural India and provide it the resources it requires to grow at the same pace as the urban areas. The same was done by selecting critical areas and framing policies to counter the problems faced by them. Such as:-

• Better irrigation facilities for 28.5 lakh hectare land under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojna
• Development of roads through allocation of Rs.1 lakh crore budget for the same
• Allocation of Rs.5500 crore to PM Fasal Bima Yojna in order to ensure fair insurance for the farmers
• Efforts towards 100 percent electrification of the villages
• Introduction on e-marketing platform for agricultural products

More such policies have been dedicated to the development of rural sector in order to help it cope with an inflation decelerating at a rate that is 40 % lower to that of urban areas. All these efforts are showing positive results and rural India is growing, which empowers its citizens.

The Impact of This Change

Rural India might be growing at a slow rate but the rural audience have been changing rapidly in terms of their behavior and purchasing habits. With the connectivity between rural and urban area strengthening, a shift of cultures is noticeable. Certain factors such as:-

• Improvement in purchasing power
• Increase in literacy and standard of living
• Availability of products
• Influence of urban art, music and literature

The best way to understand this is comprehending the entertainment habits of rural and urban people of today. We all are watching the same channels that are mostly airing the same content and advertisements. This means that rural audiences are being sold the same idea of happiness as urban audiences, the notion of comfort does not come with a “city tag” anymore. This effect is compounded with the economic growth and impacts the perception of needs that rural India holds dear to their heart. People want their kids to be educated, have access to internet, eat good food and achieve their dreams. Dreams are built based on what you covet and that comes from what you see and cannot have which is the success they see on television. The concept of freedom, money and fame is widespread and television has a big role to play in it.
Now that the most of the villages and small towns of India are finally growing with respectable per capita income and increased purchasing power of the individuals, people have money to pursue their dreams and fulfil their desires. They are taking the same road as the urban areas once took to reach where the big cities are right now.

The differentiation between urban and rural, myth and reality?

Rural India is growing, yes but at the same time urban India is growing too and therefore it is impractical to believe that their destinies can be conjoined in such a short duration of time. Similarly, even though they are not similar, this growth is bringing them closer to one another.
The virtual lines of disparity between rural and urban areas darkened by years of urbanization, modernization and industrialization are finally starting to blur due to development and growth of rural markets. Surely, there are still differences and they might exist in the future as well but the process of making these differences less significant has started.

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