Rural Consumer Confidence Survey

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Published on August 06, 2025

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Rural Consumer Confidence Survey

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of July 2025 round of its bi-monthly Rural Consumer Confidence Survey (RCCS)¹ ². The survey collects current perceptions (vis-à-vis a year ago) and one year ahead expectations of households on general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation, own income and spending from the rural and semi-urban households across all Indian states and three major UTs. The survey also collates quantitative information on households' current inflation perception and their year ahead expectation. The latest round of the survey was conducted during July 1- 12, 2025, covering 7,924 valid responses.

Highlights:

Rural consumer confidence for the current period has improved; the Current Situation Index (CSI)³ inched up marginally owing to broad-based improvement across major survey parameters (Chart 1; Tables 1, 3, 5, 6 and 9).
The Future Expectations Index (FEI) showed continued improvement in the last six rounds (Chart 1; Table 9).
The share of rural households anticipating decline in prices and inflation for the year ahead horizon has increased in this survey round (Tables 3 and 4).
Households current inflation perception declined by 50 bps to 5.8 per cent in July 2025 as compared with the previous round. Moreover, year ahead inflation expectation reduced significantly by 100 bps to 7.9 per cent (Table 12).

Note: Please see the excel file for time series data ⁴.

Table 1: Perceptions and Expectations on the General Economic Situation
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Improve	Remained same	Worsened	Net Response	Improve	Remains same	Worsen	Net Response
Jul-24	39.6	25.6	34.8	4.8	58.1	16.9	25.0	33.1
Sep-24	39.9	25.4	34.8	5.1	57.2	19.2	23.6	33.6
Nov-24	38.2	24.7	37.1	1.1	57.9	18.1	24.0	34.0
Jan-25	39.4	25.2	35.4	4.0	58.8	17.0	24.2	34.6
Mar-25	41.4	23.8	34.7	6.7	60.0	16.6	23.4	36.6
May-25	40.8	25.3	33.9	6.9	60.3	16.7	23.1	37.2
Jul-25	41.6	24.0	34.4	7.1	59.6	21.2	19.2	40.4

Table 2: Perceptions and Expectations on Employment
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Improve	Remained same	Worsened	Net Response	Improve	Remains same	Worsen	Net Response
Jul-24	35.0	27.1	37.9	-2.9	57.7	19.0	23.3	34.4
Sep-24	35.9	26.2	37.9	-2.0	57.1	20.9	22.1	35.0
Nov-24	36.6	25.6	37.8	-1.2	58.4	19.4	22.2	36.1
Jan-25	38.4	25.8	35.8	2.6	58.9	19.0	22.1	36.8
Mar-25	39.6	24.9	35.4	4.2	59.8	18.8	21.5	38.3
May-25	39.9	25.0	35.2	4.7	59.9	18.7	21.4	38.5
Jul-25	38.0	28.8	33.3	4.7	57.6	24.7	17.7	39.9

Table 3: Perceptions and Expectations on Price Level
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Increased	Remained Same	Decreased	Net Response	Will Increase	Will Remain Same	Will Decrease	Net Response
Jul-24	96.2	3.2	0.6	-95.6	91.2	4.7	4.1	-87.1
Sep-24	96.1	2.7	1.1	-95.0	89.6	5.2	5.2	-84.5
Nov-24	96.6	3.0	0.4	-96.3	90.0	5.0	5.0	-85.0
Jan-25	96.2	3.3	0.4	-95.8	90.0	5.0	5.1	-84.9
Mar-25	95.1	3.4	1.5	-93.6	88.7	5.4	5.9	-82.8
May-25	94.6	3.9	1.5	-93.1	88.5	4.9	6.6	-81.9
Jul-25	94.2	3.6	2.2	-92.0	88.5	3.9	7.7	-80.8

Table 4: Perceptions and Expectations on Rate of Change in Price Level (Inflation)*
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Increased	Remained Same	Decreased	Net Response	Will Increase	Will Remain Same	Will Decrease	Net Response
Jul-24	80.5	15.2	4.3	-76.2	83.6	13.5	2.9	-80.7
Sep-24	80.6	14.6	4.8	-75.8	81.8	15.4	2.8	-79.0
Nov-24	82.3	14.2	3.5	-78.8	83.6	12.3	4.2	-79.4
Jan-25	80.4	16.5	3.1	-77.3	80.5	16.3	3.2	-77.2
Mar-25	78.3	17.4	4.3	-74.0	79.3	16.0	4.7	-74.6
May-25	77.6	17.8	4.6	-73.0	77.9	16.9	5.1	-72.8
Jul-25	77.4	16.9	5.8	-71.6	77.9	16.7	5.5	-72.3
Notes: *Applicable only for those respondents who felt price has increased/price will increase.

Table 5: Perceptions and Expectations on Income
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Increased	Remained Same	Decreased	Net Response	Will Increase	Will Remain Same	Will Decrease	Net Response
Jul-24	22.7	45.0	32.4	-9.7	57.5	30.5	12.0	45.5
Sep-24	23.3	44.1	32.6	-9.3	57.1	31.9	11.0	46.2
Nov-24	24.2	43.3	32.5	-8.3	58.2	30.1	11.7	46.5
Jan-25	23.7	45.6	30.7	-7.0	58.4	30.1	11.5	47.0
Mar-25	24.7	45.3	29.9	-5.2	59.0	30.8	10.3	48.7
May-25	25.3	44.7	30.0	-4.8	59.7	29.9	10.4	49.3
Jul-25	23.7	49.4	26.8	-3.1	58.0	35.3	6.8	51.2

Table 6: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Increased	Remained Same	Decreased	Net Response	Will Increase	Will Remain Same	Will Decrease	Net Response
Jul-24	86.2	11.5	2.2	84.0	88.5	9.1	2.4	86.1
Sep-24	87.9	9.7	2.5	85.4	88.8	9.2	2.0	86.9
Nov-24	88.5	9.6	1.9	86.6	90.0	8.0	2.0	88.0
Jan-25	87.9	10.3	1.9	86.0	89.0	9.3	1.8	87.2
Mar-25	90.5	7.3	2.2	88.2	90.8	7.4	1.9	88.9
May-25	88.1	10.0	2.0	86.1	89.7	8.3	2.0	87.8
Jul-25	87.0	12.3	0.7	86.3	90.9	6.3	2.9	88.0

Table 7: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending- Essential Items
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Increased	Remained Same	Decreased	Net Response	Will Increase	Will Remain Same	Will Decrease	Net Response
Jul-24	88.1	9.6	2.3	85.8	89.2	8.4	2.5	86.7
Sep-24	89.1	8.5	2.4	86.7	89.9	8.0	2.1	87.8
Nov-24	89.1	8.9	2.1	87.0	90.0	7.9	2.1	87.9
Jan-25	87.9	9.5	2.6	85.4	89.5	8.2	2.3	87.2
Mar-25	89.8	8.0	2.2	87.6	91.2	6.9	2.0	89.2
May-25	88.3	9.2	2.6	85.7	90.4	7.7	2.0	88.4
Jul-25	86.7	11.6	1.7	85.0	92.5	4.0	3.5	89.0

Table 8: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending- Non-Essential Items
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round	Current Perception				One year ahead Expectation
Survey Round	Increased	Remained Same	Decreased	Net Response	Will Increase	Will Remain Same	Will Decrease	Net Response
Jul-24	53.9	21.0	25.2	28.7	67.5	19.6	12.9	54.5
Sep-24	55.6	18.3	26.1	29.4	68.2	18.7	13.0	55.2
Nov-24	57.3	18.5	24.2	33.2	68.1	19.1	12.8	55.4
Jan-25	57.3	19.7	23.1	34.2	68.1	19.6	12.4	55.7
Mar-25	58.4	19.1	22.5	35.9	69.6	18.2	12.3	57.3
May-25	58.3	18.6	23.1	35.2	69.3	18.4	12.3	56.9
Jul-25	54.7	27.9	17.4	37.2	73.6	10.1	16.4	57.2

Table 9: Rural Consumer Confidence Indices
Survey Round	Current Situation Index (CSI)	Future Expectations Index (FEI)
Jul-24	96.1	122.4
Sep-24	96.9	123.4
Nov-24	96.4	123.9
Jan-25	98.0	124.1
Mar-25	100.1	125.9
May-25	100.0	126.2
Jul-25	100.6	127.7

Table 10: Current Period Median Inflation Perception of the Various Groups
	Jan-25		Mar-25
	Estimate	SE	Estimate	SE
Overall	7.0	0.19	6.6	0.23
Gender-wise
Male	7.5	0.21	6.7	0.27
Female	6.7	0.22	6.4	0.26
Category-wise
Salaried Employees	7.6	0.35	6.5	0.35
Self Employed	7.1	0.37	6.9	0.38
Homemakers	6.7	0.24	6.4	0.29
Retired Persons	9.3	0.61	7.6	0.83
Daily Workers	7	0.43	6.6	0.39
Others	7.2	0.25	6.1	0.25
Age Group-wise
21 to 29 years	6.7	0.22	6.5	0.24
30 to 39 years	6.9	0.31	6.8	0.29
40 to 59 years	7.1	0.29	6.4	0.30
60 years and above	8.7	0.56	7.2	0.59
	May-25		Jul-25
	Estimate	SE	Estimate	SE
Overall	6.3	0.17	5.8	0.08
Gender-wise
Male	6.3	0.17	5.8	0.11
Female	6.4	0.27	5.7	0.08
Category-wise
Salaried Employees	6.7	0.35	5.9	0.20
Self Employed	6.1	0.22	5.9	0.21
Homemakers	6.5	0.28	5.8	0.10
Retired Persons	6.2	0.50	6.7	0.93
Daily Workers	6.1	0.18	5.6	0.10
Others	6.4	0.23	5.7	0.11
Age Group-wise
21 to 29 years	6.3	0.20	5.7	0.08
30 to 39 years	6.3	0.28	5.7	0.09
40 to 59 years	6.2	0.22	5.9	0.15
60 years and above	6.1	0.19	6.0	0.27
Notes: The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for quantitative responses.

Table 11: One Year Ahead Median Inflation Expectations of Various Groups
	Jan-25		Mar-25
	Estimate	SE	Estimate	SE
Overall	9.6	0.24	9.3	0.23
Gender-wise
Male	9.7	0.30	9.3	0.29
Female	9.6	0.29	9.2	0.28
Category-wise
Salaried Employees	10	0.3	9.1	0.32
Self Employed	9.3	0.32	9.0	0.34
Homemakers	9.6	0.31	9.5	0.31
Retired Persons	9.9	0.66	9.5	0.79
Daily Workers	9.4	0.45	9.3	0.36
Others	9.1	0.33	8.8	0.29
Age Group-wise
21 to 29 years	9.4	0.28	9.2	0.31
30 to 39 years	9.7	0.29	9.0	0.29
40 to 59 years	9.3	0.37	9.2	0.28
60 years and above	10.0	0.40	9.8	0.46
	May-25		Jul-25
	Estimate	SE	Estimate	SE
Overall	8.9	0.19	7.9	0.25
Gender-wise
Male	8.9	0.24	8.0	0.37
Female	9.1	0.30	7.6	0.26
Category-wise
Salaried Employees	9.5	0.32	7.6	0.35
Self Employed	8.6	0.38	7.9	0.42
Homemakers	9.0	0.30	7.9	0.3
Retired Persons	8.8	0.59	8.9	1.02
Daily Workers	8.5	0.34	7.1	0.36
Others	8.7	0.41	7.8	0.42
Age Group-wise
21 to 29 years	8.8	0.22	7.6	0.34
30 to 39 years	9.2	0.28	7.5	0.34
40 to 59 years	8.6	0.30	8.0	0.41
60 years and above	8.3	0.31	8.2	0.67
Notes: The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for quantitative responses.

Table 12: Household Inflation Expectations – Current Perception and One Year Ahead Expectations
Survey Round	Current Perception		One Year ahead Expectation
	Median		Median
	Estimate	SE	Estimate	SE
Jul-24	6.8	0.22	9.8	0.22
Sep-24	6.7	0.23	9.6	0.24
Nov-24	7.1	0.19	9.7	0.23
Jan-25	7.0	0.19	9.6	0.24
Mar-25	6.6	0.23	9.3	0.23
May-25	6.3	0.17	8.9	0.19
Jul-25	5.8	0.08	7.9	0.25
Notes: The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for quantitative responses.

Table 13: Cross-tabulation of Number of Respondents by Current Inflation Perception and One Year Ahead Inflation Expectations: Jul-25
One Year Ahead Inflation Rate (per cent)
Current Inflation Rate (per cent)		<1	1-<2	2-<3	3-<4	4-<5	5-<6	6-<7	7-<8	8-<9	9-<10	10-<11	11-<12	12-<13	13-<14	14-<15	15-<16	>=16	No idea	Total
	<1	413	39	43	23	13	36	7	1	1	2	17	-	1	-	-	8	6	-	612
	1-<2	33	37	87	31	7	14	5	3	-	-	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	219
	2-<3	94	-	102	193	154	113	31	8	2	1	7	-	-	-	-	1	2	-	708
	3-<4	73	-	-	106	178	135	72	16	7	5	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	600
	4-<5	50	3	9	25	107	189	79	50	45	50	20	8	1	-	5	3	4	-	648
	5-<6	98	4	34	28	77	271	356	255	139	52	398	4	3	2	11	19	10	-	1761
	6-<7	14	1	-	3	4	12	46	130	69	44	62	6	23	3	-	1	1	-	419
	7-<8	10	-	1	1	3	4	3	37	84	61	81	13	13	4	13	3	2	1	334
	8-<9	8	-	1	1	-	3	3	3	25	52	60	17	20	5	2	6	5	1	212
	9-<10	7	-	-	-	-	1	-	2	9	22	74	13	14	4	16	18	24	2	206
	10-<11	48	3	5	4	4	24	-	2	2	37	159	73	124	18	18	228	194	17	960
	11-<12	2	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	5	4	21	3	1	4	6	6	54
	12-<13	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	5	15	8	16	6	10	62
	13-<14	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	13	3	1	2	22
	14-<15	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	1	6	19	7	4	41
	15-<16	23	1	-	-	-	3	-	-	2	-	3	-	-	-	-	37	110	-	179
	>=16	132	-	3	2	4	10	-	3	1	1	20	-	1	-	-	-	710	-	887
	Total	1007	88	285	418	552	816	602	511	386	327	915	142	226	57	93	366	1088	45	7924

¹ The rural consumer confidence survey covers both rural and semi-urban areas.

² The survey results reflect the respondents views, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank. Results of the previous survey round were released on the Banks website on June 06, 2025.

³ CSI and FEI are compiled with the net responses on five survey parameters viz., general economic situation, employment, income, price level and spending, for the current period (as compared with one year ago) and a year ahead, respectively. CSI and FEI = 100 + Average of Net Responses of the above parameters. Index value greater than 100 indicates optimism and value less than 100 indicates pessimism.

⁴ Unit-level data for previous rounds of the survey are available on the Banks Database on Indian Economy (DBIE) portal (weblink: https://data.rbi.org.in/DBIE/#/dbie/home) under the head Unit-level Data.

⁵ Net response is the difference between the percentage of respondents reporting optimism and those reporting pessimisms. It ranges between -100 and 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/ optimism and values less than zero indicate contraction/ pessimism.