INTRODUCTION
The census of India defines rural as any habitation with a population density of less than 400 per sq.km.,
where at least 75 per cent of male working population is engaged in agriculture and where there exists no
municipality or board. Of the nearly 6.4 lakh villages in India, only 20,000 villages have populations more
than 5,000.Leaving aside Hindustan Lever and ITC, most companies in the FMCG sector would define
rural as any place with a population up to 20,000.Similarly,durable and agri-input companies would
consider any town with a population below 50,000 as rural.