Executive Summary This study on rural consumer behaviour is aimed to get a better understanding of the Indian market place thus enabling companies to embark on selected strategies to effectively reach the India rural consumers. India is a huge country with 28 states, over one billion people and 120 dialects or languages. From the market perspective people of India comprise different segments of consumers based on class, status and income. An important and recent development is India’s consumerism is the emergence of the rural market for several basic consumer goods. Three fourth of India’s populaon live in rural area and contributes to one third of the naonal income. India is a lucrative market even though the per capita income in India is low and it remains a huge market even for costly products. This project report focuses on understanding the rural consumer behaviour and psyche without which it will be virtually impossible for companies to satisfy this segment. It is very essential for them to invest time and resources for the same resulting in appropriate marketing strategies to increase the market share and for avoiding any surprises in the market place. Illustrations have been given to explain the difference in the behaviour of the rural consumer and his urban counterpart. When we talk about rural markets and rural marketing, names of a few global players come to our mind. The top rank will definitely be taken by the pioneer in rural marketing – Hindustan Unilever Limited. An effort has been made to understand the successful marketing strategies adopted by HUL to become a household name in rural India. 1