Rural area definition excludes municipalities above population threshold and notified peri urban zones, affecting income tax deduction eligibility. Definition of Rural Area excludes areas within the jurisdiction of a municipality or cantonment board with a population of not less than ten thousand per the relevant published census, and also excludes areas within a distance not exceeding fifteen kilometres from such local limits if the Central Government, considering stage of development and scope for urbanisation, specifies them as non-rural by notification in the Official Gazette.