India’s rural consumption surges in boost for FMCG firms. Consumption growth in rural India has outpaced urban spending by the widest margin in five years, encouraged by relatively good rainfall last year and an increase in government spending on infrastructure. Rural consumption rose by 9.7% in the year ended 31 March, faster than the 8.6 percent growth in urban spending, according to market researcher Nielsen. A year ago, rural growth outpaced urban spending by less than half a percentage point.