New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) The increase in India’s rural demand, reflected in figures such as the surge in two-wheeler sales, spells good news for India’s $4.2 trillion economy, which in 2025 passed Japan to emerge as the world’s fourth-largest, media reports said.

An article in Singapore’s The Straits Times cites a National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) survey, which found that 42.2 per cent of rural households saw their incomes grow in 2025, with about 80 per cent of households reporting higher consumption.

It also points out that a recent survey of 30 chief executives of big companies conducted by the Business Standard financial daily found that more than eight in 10 of them had plans to make fresh investments or expand capacity in 2026.

The article points out that the improvement in rural demand suggests that growth is trickling down in what is by any yardstick a highly unequal society, with too much wealth and buying capacity concentrated at the top of the pyramid.

That purchasing power is improving in a wider section of people is also a morale booster for a country that in 2025 suffered a series of setbacks. Punitive tariffs imposed by the Trump administration led to significant job losses in jewellery, garments and marine sectors, the article states.

“There have also been questions about the quality of Indian data raised by the International Monetary Fund and some economists. But the empirical evidence now showing up is hard to ignore – even from this distance – and Singaporeans should take note of this growth pole. All the more given the wheeze in big regional economies such as Indonesia’s and Thailand’s, and persistent concerns about China,” the article states.

The article highlights that the prospects of broad-based growth in India spell good news for Singapore’s companies, such as DBS Bank, Sembcorp, Singtel and CapitaLand – all of which have significant presence in that economy either directly or via significant stakes in key Indian companies.

The Indian market has also been Singapore investment company Temasek’s top-performing portfolio over the past decade, the article added.

–IANS

sps/dan