Nurses constitute a major portion of the health care workforce in India. A priority to develop pre and post registration nurse education in India has increasingly been highlighted in nursing and health policy imperatives in recent years. Nurses are often the only health care professional in primary and secondary care within rural and remote health care settings in India. A questionnaire based survey was undertaken as part of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs assessment in two large primary and secondary health care facilities in remote and rural parts of India. Aims of the survey included identification of CPD priorities, barriers and facilitators to CPD and preferred modes for CPD. A total of 368 questionnaires were distributed through post or email. The response rate was 73.6% with 271 questionnaires completed. CPD priorities included clinical competencies focused on managing emergency situations related to non-communicable diseases (50%) and managerial competencies required with ethical dilemmas (60%) to provide support for families with financial difficulties to access health care (17.8%), women undergoing abortions (14.6%) or those with HIV infection (12.9%). Three most preferred modes for CPD included conferences (54%), skills training (48%), in-house CPD training (32. Three key facilitators for CPD included professional development (77%), personal interest (42 %), opportunities for professional engagement with colleagues (39%). Geographic distance (59%), low staffing levels (51%), cost (43%) were reported as three key barriers to CPD.