Tweaking technology is also making it possible for startups to offer new applications that suit rural consumers. It is the scale of the opportunity that is drawing scores of entrepreneurs to rural India. We take a look at five entrepreneurs who have are offering unique solutions: 

As a young automobile engineer Abhinav Kumar dreamt of joining a professional racing team. But a casual visit to rural Uttar Pradesh, where he saw a range of locally manufactured vehicles being used to ferry people and goods, changed the 27-year-old's career ambitions. 

He realised there was consumer demand for a transport vehicle that was both affordable and reliable. Soon he quit his job at auto-parts maker, Sona Koyo Steering Systems to set up his own venture, Evomo, in 2010. 

Evomo's rural utility vehicle costs Rs 1.5 lakh, which is less than the price of a Tata Nano, dubbed the world's cheapest car. Kumar said he manages to keep costs low by using locally sourced material and drawing from global design ideas that are past the patent-protection stage. His target is to sell at least one vehicle in each of India's 6.5 lakh villages in the next five years. 

In Coimbatore, electric-bike maker Ampere Vehicles is selling thousands of bikes being used by retailers to distribute water and milk in villages. Founded in 2008 by Hemalatha Annamalai, 45, a computer engineer, the company is expected to reach revenue of Rs 100 crore within the next four years. 

Kolkata-based iKure Techsoft has built a network of rural health centres where doctors are available through the week and pharmacists dispense only accredited medicines. In addition the company has built a back-end software platform on which all health records are stored. This is used to centrally monitor key metrics such as doctors' attendance, treatment prescribed and pharmacy stock management. 

Sujay Santra, iKure's founder said the idea for the business came to him when he realised that his relatives and friends in a West Bengal village could not relate to his work at a US technology firm. "I was not doing anything which would impact them directly," said Santra, 36, who left Oracle to launch his healthcare venture.