WITH Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm, New India is full of energy and ambition. The mood has decisively shifted from the basics of Roti (bread), Kapada (clothing), and Makan (housing), to Pragati (progress), and Pehchan (identity).
This has been established through the finding of ‘Through Parivartan 2.0’, where some long-term structural changes in rural India and implication for the Indian economy in the coming decade, in all its hues and layers, were studied.
Elara Capital’s economist Garima Kapoor and the Elara research team have come out with a mega thematic ‘Parivartan 2.0: A treatise on change — India unbridled, unleashed and unlocked’. The report was put together after the Elara team visited 21 states, 77 districts, 103 towns and 96 villages.
Delimitation outcome
As per analysis of population growth (on 2026 projected population by the Ministry of Health), delimitation of parliamentary constituencies may yield a total likely rise of 255 seats. South India may see a rise of 24 and North an increase of 104 seats, with rest being distributed between East and the West of India.
The reason for the higher number of seats in North India at the expense of South is given that population growth has varied across the country.
Meanwhile, in rural India, data have shown that rural consumption CAGR was higher than urban during FY12-23. Also, while spending on food items – cereals, pulses and vegetables – is down, that on packaged & processed food and beverages is up, suggesting food choices associated with convenience. Sale of tractors is usually associated with interest in mechanisation and increased margins. There was a robust growth in tractor sales post-Covid. In addition, showing an increase towards personal amenities, companies into hygiene or personal care saw higher penetration for products, such as children’s diapers and sanitary napkins.
Increased awareness
Aspirations are soaring as the evolving dynamics of rural India reflect increased awareness brought about by the Internet, a significant uptick in literacy rates, changing social norms, and willingness to explore and experiment. These factors together are weaving a tapestry of consumption patterns that contrasts with the past, and an India that aspires to wear expensive clothes, dine out, spend more to educate children, use premium hygiene and personal care products.
Interestingly, 23 per cent of respondents in rural India wanted to buy the first car priced INR 0.8mn or above. Nearly 70 per cent admitted using YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram as modes of entertainment.
On March 11, 2024, the Government launched the Namo Drone Didi initiative, under which 15,000 women-led SelfHelp Groups (SHG) would receive agri drones to undertake crop monitoring, fertiliser and insecticide spraying, and seed sowing. The scheme trains women to be drone pilots. Sonia, age 30, a SHG member from the Rindal village in the Karnal district of Haryana, is a Drone Didi and expects to earn Rs 50,000 after spraying 150 acres over two weeks, says the study citing here example.
Container movement
The study also found that there is a 50 per cent jump in the container movement in Indian Railways versus pre-Covid levels. The time taken to move a container from Dadri to Mundra has halved to 36 hours from 72. The goal is to reduce it to 24 hours.
Meanwhile, there is a trend showing people are ready to embrace new financial frontiers. There is an increase in financial capability and a rise in awareness through behavioral or structural parivartan especially in states such as Uttar Pradesh that are seeing remarkable economic progress. The use of UPI and digital technology is also changing rural India. The most dominant company in the digital space was found to be PayTM followed by PhonePe.
The adoption of BharatPe and Google Pay was found to be limited. The adoption was found to be for both B-to-B as well as B-to-C and was not limited to the size of the enterprise. Even a small vendor selling lime juice uses QR code-based payment mechanism.
