My observations on small-town India

I was in my hometown, Junagarh(a small town in Kalahandi district of Odisha) recently for couple of months and below are few of my observations on rural economy and business scene.

1) There is an acute shortage of semi-skilled workforce. Youth who are decently educated want to go to cities to earn more. Small town business owners are adopting digital and want to do their business on computers. But they are not getting good computer operators, good accountants etc.

2) Real estate prices have gone very high in recent times. During corona, maybe because business was not doing great, lots of money started getting routed to real estate, resulting in high price of lands.

3) GST has changed the way business is done there. Businesses have to follow more compliances there, which is leading to more paperwork.

4) Infrastructural development is happening very rapidly. You will see top-quality roads even in villages.

5) UPI payment has penetrated deep into hinterland. Smallest of businesses are accepting UPI.

6) Almost all ecommerce companies have penetrated deeply there. Many have warehouses close to the town. And it has started affecting the local business.

7) Many young educated folks who have worked in the corporate sector are coming back to help grow family business in a modern way. They are driving digital adoption in business by trying new business software/apps like khatabook, dukaan, zoho, freshworks etc.

8) Farmlands are been bought and converted for commercial purposes. In future, this may affect agriculture.

9) Places of tourist attractions like waterfalls, temples, beaches, hills etc have not got enough focus from the government yet. Once that happens, it can generate good income for the local population.

10) In terms of educational and medical infrastructure, small towns are still much behind. There are no great schools or hospitals. Even for medium complex medical cases, patients need to be taken to nearby city hospitals. Kids need to be sent to a good school in a nearby city after a certain age.

11) Pollution control, waste management, environment conservation civic cleanliness, road safety etc are not a priority yet.

If you have stayed in small towns in recent past, what are your observations?

#Smalltown #RuralEconomy #SMB #India