RURAL INDIA- AN EMERGING POWERHOUSE

1.       Introduction
         It is said that there are two Indias –Bharat ( existing in the villages) & India ( thriving in the urban areas). If the country has to make progress & make its mark on the global stage, these two India’s have to converged.

        Millions of people in the rural India live below the poverty line. There are a number of issues relating to health, education & sanitation which need urgent attention. All stakeholders – government, NGOs, civil society & corporate- have a role in enabling a collaborative model of development

2.       Progress in Rural India

         Two out of there Indians live in her villages.  Major transformation has taken place in the last 60 years mainly thanks to the Green Revolution.  As much as 40% of India’s consumption is accounted for by rural India.

         The key drivers for transformation is India’s consumption-led growth, significant improvement in infrastructure & communication, and increased government spending on programs for rural development. Rural incomes, which were dependent mostly on farm income, are now boosted by trading, agro-processing & ancillary industries.  Therein lies the opportunity for unleashing a much higher level of aspiration among 800 million people living in rural India.  This is India’s biggest opportunity

3.       The Challenges of Transforming Rural India
The biggest challenges are in
        a.       Agriculture: agriculture productivity levels among the lowest in the world; the reasons are small land holdings with limited mechanisation & the limited access to capital
        b.      Rural Employment & Employability: The share of agriculture in GDP has fallen from 30% in 1990-91 to 14.5% in 2011-12, while the number of people employed in agriculture has not come down, thanks to inadequate opportunities for employment beyond agriculture & lack of employability.
        c.       Human Development: The Human Development Index is lower than that of many developing countries
        d.      The Opportunity: The population of rural India is about 12% of the world population, which   makes it bigger than the size of Europe. The growth in rural economy can have a significant cascading impact on the national economy that can transform the growth rate of the country
        e.      Sustainable Growth: Growth in our villages can put pressure on natural resources ( like water & energy). The challenge is to decouple growth from environmental footprint. We should ensure sustainable growth with a positive social impact in a manner that is economically & environmentally  sustainable
4.       Enablers of Rural Transformation
          If rural India is to achieve consistent & sustainable growth, we need to harness the power of agriculture. We need to break various bottlenecks that stifle growth. Market based approaches are needed. We also have to go beyond agriculture for leveraging the power of people to realize the full potential of rural India. For making rural India more self reliant , we need to look into what the villages lack , viz. Infrastructure, information, capital at reasonable rates of interest and education & skills.           
          Enablers which can build an ecosystem that can harness the power of rural India:
                                          a.       Access to Urban India
                                          b.      Technology Adoption
                                          c.       Financial Inclusion
                                          d.      Education & Health
                                          e.      Skill Buildin
5.       HUL’s Association with Rural India
HUL has a strong association with rural India with 40% of its products consumed in the rural markets; its distribution network reaches 1.3 lac villages. The company is bringing alive the spirit of Sustainable Living Plan to holistically contribute to the social, economic & environmental agenda with a significant impact on rural India
            o   Sustainable Sourcing
            o   Enhancing Livelihoods
            o   Health & Well-Being
6.       Conclusion
HUL is excited with opportunity to continue to serve 800 million consumers in rural India 7 be a part of a great journey

source :  THE HINDU BUSINESS LINE July24,’12 (Extracts from the speech by Harish Manwani, Chairman, HUL in the company’s AGM on the 23^rd July)