"India lives in its villages", said Gandhiji decades ago. Over the decades since Independence, several Government programs have been launched and implemented with a single point agenda - poverty alleviation. All the State Governments have also implemented many rural-oriented welfare schemes. However, all these schemes and programs at best have become political bastions and rehabilitation vehicles for "politically active" workers and eventually these programs over the years have become grand sloganeering vehicles. Remember, Mrs. Indira Gandhi's "Garibhi Hatao" slogan?
Added to these 'governmental' efforts were the causes championed by NGOs, social entrepreneurial ventures, corporate social responsibility initiatives, microfinance institutions etc. The big difference between governmental initiatives and the 'private' initiatives has been that while the end remained the same - poverty alleviation - the means differed distinctly. While the governmental efforts "aided" the rural masses, the private initiatives sought to increase the purchasing power by encouraging several self-imployment and entrepreneurial ventures.
However, the achievements of both of these "Poverty Partners" - the government-led institutions and privately-held institutions - are very far from the desirable.
It isn't as though nothing has been achieved. While a significant progress has been made - especially in sensitizing the rural masses to the clarion call - a lot needs to be done in changing their mindset. How would you sensitize them to higher order goals, not needs? How would you sensitize them to come out of their cocoons?
Every report on Indian rural markets paints a rosy picture. All those are in (real?) numbers and do not speak anything of the nature of Indian rural markets. By some estimates, it is about $500 billion - $ 600 billion market.
How to tap this huge potential? What needs to be done to ensure a sizeable portion of this market?
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