The recent overhaul in GST rates—dubbed a “Diwali gift” by the Finance Minister—which reduced prices of essential items, shored up India’s consumption in the latter half of the year. With the Union Budget less than a week away, consumers, retail businesses, and D2C brands are hoping for more announcements to fuel the consumption story further. Apart from stimulus and tax benefits, India Inc is also seeking structural reforms to spur demand and consumption.  Rural reformsThe Indian consumption story is incomplete without the rural consumers who represent a large part of the market.According to NielsenIQ’s second quarter snapshot, the Indian FMCG industry delivered a robust 13.9% value growth in Q2 of 2025 compared to the previous year. This was fuelled by demand from the rural market, which has now outpaced urban markets for the sixth consecutive quarter.The rural markets recorded a surge in smaller pack purchases with unit growth outpacing overall volume. This signals that, while rural consumers are willing to buy, they are also downsizing to manage tight budgets. This behaviour validates the need for a critical shift in policy: rural India does not need temporary cash handouts that lead to a one-time purchase. Instead, it requires deep-rooted structural reforms such as investments…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

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