USHA International and Rourkela Steel Plant empower rural Odisha women through sewing training, fostering financial independence, sustainable livelihoods and boosting local economies

The Indian economy is recovering from the slowdown in momentum witnessed in the September quarter, driven by strong festival activity and a sustained upswing in rural demand, according to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin released on Tuesday.

The 2024 Union Budget may tilt towards, but not pivot to welfare spending, with a focus on rural economy and job creation, economists at Goldman Sachs said in a note on Monday.

China will allow some foreigners to obtain visas on arrival and rural residents to settle more easily in cities as part of a series of measures aimed at boosting its flagging economy.

The Lt Governor highlighted the contribution of the dairy sector in giving impetus to the rural economy and providing livelihood to a large population associated with the sector.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India is number one in digital payments and the country's rural economy is transforming.

The number of person days generated under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) in January and February this year following the implementation of an app-based attendance system has gone down compared to previous years.

Domestic two-wheeler sales, which is indicative of the financial health of India's rural economy and demand in the country's largest consumption segment loosely defined as lower middle-income households, grew in double digits from a year earlier.

"I am confident that India is on a very strong growth path," Mukesh Ambani said at the ongoing three-day UP Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow.

In Budget 2023, one of the biggest moves by the government was to slash the allocation for the rural jobs scheme MGNREGA despite considerable demand for work.

Budget 2023: The Rural Development Ministry has been allocated Rs 1,57,545 crore in the Union Budget for 2023-24, around 13 per cent less than the estimated expenditure made by the ministry in the current fiscal.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is widely expected to announce 10% to 12% increase in budget allocations for health, education and rural projects, helped by a pick up in tax collections.

"In rural areas, the demand for MGNREGA in the recent past is coming down," said Nirmala Sitharaman, referring to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

India's unemployment rate has drastically dropped to 6.43 per cent in September due to an increase in labour participation in the rural and urban areas, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

Reliance Jio, the nation's biggest telecom firm, will expand 5G telephony services offering ultra high-speed internet connectivity to every part of the country by December 2023, its chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Saturday.

Economist Abhijit Sen, who died on Monday night, was a strong advocate of the public distribution system of foodgrains and a leading expert on rural economy.

Economist Abhijit Sen, a former Planning Commission member and one of the country's foremost experts on rural economy, died on Monday night. He was 72.

Retail inflation for farm and rural workers increased to 6.60 per cent and 6.82 per cent, respectively, in July mainly due to higher prices of certain food items.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the dairy sector has been a major contributor to the growth of the rural economy in India and through the launch of technology-driven projects at Sabar Dairy.

India's overall unemployment rate rose to 7.80 per cent in June, from 7.12 per cent in May, according to the latest data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy's (CMIE).

Retail inflation for agricultural and rural labourers rose in April due to increase in food prices

Total outstanding dues of electricity distribution companies to power producers rose by 4.04 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,21,765 crore in May 2022

Retail inflation for farm and rural labourers witnessed a slide in September 2021 as it stood at 2.89 per cent and 3.16 per cent respectively

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that country needs at least four banks equivalent to the size of SBI to meet changing needs of economy