The document discusses the rural economy in India. It notes that a majority of India's population lives in rural areas and is engaged in agriculture and related activities, which contribute around 29% to India's GDP. Over time, the percentage of India's population living in rural areas has declined but still made up around 69% in 2010. The rural sector consists of the agricultural sub-sector including crop cultivation, animal husbandry, and the non-agricultural sub-sector including industry, business and services. Rural markets now offer significant potential due to rising incomes and awareness in rural areas.

1. RURAL ECONOMY Unit 1

2. Learning Objectives
After studying this lesson, you should be in a
position to:
➢ Explain the nature of rural economy
➢ Highlight the characteristics of rural markets
➢ Describe the differences between rural and
the urban economy

3. Rural Economy - Rural - Urban disparities-
policy interventions required - Rural face to
Reforms - The Development exercises in the
last few decades.

4. India is highly populated country. Majority of the Indian
population lives in the rural areas.
Purchasing power of the rural people has increased
significantly in the recent past.
Awareness of the rural people also increased significantly.
Companies which focus attention on rural market certainly
can succeed.
Rural marketing has become real marketing. Compared to
other economy, Indian economy is rural economy.
India has enormous potential for rural marketing. India’s
economy is predominantly rural in character.

5. With more than 700 million people living in rural
areas, in some 5, 80,000 villages, about two-third of
its workforce was engaged in agriculture and allied
activities with a contribution of 29 percent of India’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

6. They were given below:
In 1901 89 per cent
In 1951 83 percent
In 1971 80 percent
In 1981 76 per cent
In 1991 74 per cent
In 2001 73 per cent
In 2010 69 per cent
In 2020 65 per cent

7. Classification of Indian Economy
India’s economy can be thought of as comprising of
two main sectors, namely, the rural sector and the
urban sector.
The rural sector is, in turn, composed of two main
subsectors i.e. the agricultural sub- sector and the
non-agricultural sub -sector. Fig. gives the
classification of Indian economy.

8. The agricultural sector comprises
agricultural and allied economic activities
such as
Crop Cultivation,
Animal Husbandry,
Dairying, Fisheries,
Poultry and
Forestry (Floriculture) etc.
The non-agricultural sub-sector consists of
economic activities relating to Industry,
Business and Services.