Here is what's needed to integrate your exported [Rules][1] component in a custom module: <?php function MY_MODULE_NAME_default_rules_configuration() { $configs = array(); $rule = '{ "my_exported_rule" : { "LABEL" : "My Exported Rule", ..., } }'; $configs['my_exported_rule'] = rules_import($rule); return $configs; } ?> So to use such exported Rule, you need to run it through the function `rules_import()`. This will change the exported Rule in a format that is usable for the [Rules][1] module. To reuse this example: - Replace MY_MODULE_NAME with the machine name of your module. - Replace the value used for `$rule` by the content of your exported rule. - Make sure to use the machine name of your rule (= `my_exported_rule` in my sample) as the key in `$configs`. In the sample contained in the question, the machine name of the rule is `rules_faircent_rules`, though that is NOT what is used in the `$configs` ... Therefor I think you should correct your code like so: $configs['rules_faircent_rules'] = rules_import($rule); echo '<pre>'; print_r($configs['rules_faircent_rules'] ); Refer to the articled "[Drupal 7 - Defining rules within a module using PHP][2]" for some more details. [1]: https://www.drupal.org/project/rules [2]: http://jamestombs.co.uk/2012-09-19/drupal-7-defining-rules-within-module-using-php