Urban India

MP ministers to now pay Income Tax; state cabinet revokes 52-yr-old rule

Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday decided that state ministers will have to pay their Income Tax, instead of the state government bearing such burden. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in a statement said the cabinet has taken a decision to strike off the 1972 rule, under which the state government was paying the Income Tax on the salaries and perks of ministers. The cabinet decided that all ministers will pay the Income Tax on their salaries and allowances, Yadav said. State Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said during the cabinet meeting, the chief minister gave a suggestion that the ministers themselves pay their Income Tax. The suggestion was accepted and hence the decision was taken in this regard, he said.

Rural India will continue to outpace urban expansion in FMCG sales: Kantar

Rural India remains a "bright star" for the growth of fast-moving consumer goods sales and the region is expected to maintain better pace of expansion than urban areas in the second quarter of 2024, a report said on Friday. According to a report from data, insights and consulting firm Kantar, rural India will maintain "better growth levels" racing ahead of the urban markets for FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies in the second quarter (April-June) of 2024. Terming the rural market as a "bright star", the report said it had a "resurgence" in 2024. While urban is likely to remain under stress, the rural may consolidate its position in second quarter of the year, it said. This growth in the rural areas is helped by region-centric measures by the government in the interim budget earlier this year, which provided stability. Moreover, populist measures are expected by some states which are going to face elections this year, said Kantar FMCG pulse report for Q2. "We should also b

Urban Governance Management

Share of women in urban salaried jobs at 6-year low in Q4FY24: PLFS

The share of women in wage work was the highest in Q1 of FY21 at 61.2 per cent

After 5 quarters, rural FMCG consumption outpaces urban: NIQ report

While there is a consumption slowdown in urban markets and modern trade channels, rural markets and traditional trade registered an uptick, said NIQ

Urban Indians ready to pay premium price for quick delivery: PwC report

The lack of discounts and special offers in physical stores, along with large crowds in malls during weekends are some of the reasons why urban dwellers prefer to shop online

New cities from old cities

In the current wave of building smart cities, we must focus on creating equal cities that bridges the development divide between the core and the outskirts

Some green shoots, but rural a stressor for FMCG companies: Top honchos

Top honchos say urban demand continues to grow

Share of urban women with salaried jobs at 6-year low in Q2: PLFS

A recent report by the State Bank of India (SBI) claimed that India's labour market including female employment is undergoing a structural transformation with self-entrepreneurship in 'all echelons'

Brands seeing increased opportunities to tap into Tier-2, Tier-3 cities

Reasons like the proliferation of smartphones and access to the internet in smaller towns have also helped push up demand

How rising vegetable prices upset household expenditure this monsoon

But, compared to a month-back the rates are still over 207 per cent more

38% of urban Indians consume artificial sweeteners monthly: Survey

A staggering 91% of respondents wanted food brands to prominently display the use of artificial sweeteners on the front of the packaging

In charts: India's rural super rich are growing faster than the urban rich

According to PRICE, the category of rich Indians which has seen the fastest growth in numbers in the five years ending 2020-21 has been the 'super rich' - or those more than Rs 2 crore annually.

Urban markets pull demand for daily groceries and essentials up in Q4

The quantity of FMCG goods purchased, or volumes, increased 2.1% in rural markets and 5.9% in cities YoY, the report said

Why is shopping becoming more individualistic across urban India?

Fewer people are going shopping with families and in groups and more people have been making individual purchases in recent times, said an analyst

Consumer sentiments fall short

Expectations of household incomes a year later turned positive in March 2023 for the first time since April 2020

India needs dynamic approach to define rural-urban areas: EAC-PM member

India needs a more dynamic approach to define rural-urban areas by using technological indicators like night-time light intensity, the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM) has said. EAC-PM member Shamika Ravi in a working paper titled 'What is Urban/Rural India' also suggested that the government needs to establish 'trigger mechanisms' to automate the transition from rural to urban settlement after the prescribed threshold is reached. The EAC-PM also suggested that the government needs to revisit the assumption of creating schemes based on the rural-urban divide, which is a poor proxy for scarcity. "India needs a more dynamic approach to defining rural-urban areas, which includes technological indicators like night-time light intensity," Ravi said. As of December 2017, 'rural' is defined in relationship with 'urban'. Any settlement that is not considered 'urban' is automatically considered 'rural'. "Further, the government needs to establish "trigger mechanisms", which ...

Building urban India

Municipal bonds can play an enabling role

Notes on urban prosperity

Cities need a newer vision of urban prosperity - one that goes beyond GDP - and addresses the pillars of sustainable development

Share of self-employed goes up after the pandemic, says NSO report

Report shows 39.5 per cent male workers and 39.4 per cent female workers in urban India declared themselves self-employed