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Date : Aug 05, 2026
Rural Consumer Confidence Survey

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of July 2026 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, besides information on inflation. The survey was conducted during July 11-20, 2026, covering 8,581 responses in the rural and semi-urban areas across all Indian states and three major UTs.

Highlights:

  1. Rural consumer confidence for the current period as measured by Current Situation Index (CSI)3, moderated to 91.7 (Chart 1; Table 9).

  2. The outlook for the next year continued to remain in optimistic zone though a bit lower than previous survey round with Future Expectations Index (FEI) at 113.6 (Chart 1; Table 9).

  3. Rural households’ current inflation4 perception and year ahead expectation inched up by 20 basis points each to 6.1 per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively in the July 2026 survey round (Chart 2; Table 12).

Chart 1 and Chart 2

Note: Please see the excel file for time series data5

Summary based on Net Responses

Table 1: Perceptions and Expectations on the General Economic Situation
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round Current Perception One year ahead Expectation
Improved Remained Same Worsened Net Response Will Improve Will Remain Same Will Worsen Net Response
Jul-25 41.6 24.0 34.4 7.1 59.6 21.2 19.2 40.4
Sep-25 39.4 28.4 32.2 7.2 58.4 23.5 18.1 40.3
Nov-25 40.0 27.4 32.7 7.3 58.7 23.0 18.3 40.4
Jan-26 40.3 26.9 32.8 7.5 59.5 23.0 17.5 42.0
Mar-26 36.3 29.1 34.7 1.6 56.2 23.4 20.4 35.8
May-26 34.6 28.4 37.1 -2.5 53.1 22.4 24.5 28.5
Jul-26 30.2 27.7 42.1 -11.9 45.9 23.9 30.2 15.7

Table 2: Perceptions and Expectations on Employment
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round Current Perception One year ahead Expectation
Improved Remained Same Worsened Net Response Will Improve Will Remain Same Will Worsen Net Response
Jul-25 38.0 28.8 33.3 4.7 57.6 24.7 17.7 39.9
Sep-25 36.0 33.1 30.9 5.0 57.0 26.2 16.7 40.3
Nov-25 36.5 31.6 31.8 4.7 57.3 25.9 16.7 40.6
Jan-26 36.2 32.7 31.1 5.2 57.4 26.8 15.8 41.6
Mar-26 35.3 32.0 32.7 2.6 54.3 25.4 20.4 33.9
May-26 33.6 31.6 34.8 -1.2 52.6 24.6 22.8 29.8
Jul-26 29.7 32.6 37.7 -8.0 48.5 25.6 25.9 22.6

Table 3: Perceptions and Expectations on Price Level
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round Current Perception One year ahead Expectation
Increased Remained Same Decreased Net Response Will Increase Will Remain Same Will Decrease Net Response
Jul-25 94.2 3.6 2.2 -92.0 88.5 3.9 7.7 -80.8
Sep-25 94.4 3.5 2.2 -92.2 83.9 11.5 4.6 -79.3
Nov-25 92.8 1.8 5.4 -87.4 82.6 11.6 5.9 -76.7
Jan-26 90.8 7.4 1.8 -89.0 82.1 12.9 5.0 -77.1
Mar-26 91.1 7.4 1.5 -89.6 83.2 11.9 4.9 -78.2
May-26 90.8 8.3 0.8 -90.0 82.8 11.0 6.2 -76.6
Jul-26 91.6 7.4 1.1 -90.5 84.3 10.4 5.2 -79.1

Table 4: Perceptions and Expectations on Rate of Change in Price Level (Inflation)*
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round Current Perception One year ahead Expectation
Increased Remained Same Decreased Net Response Will Increase Will Remain Same Will Decrease Net Response
Jul-25 77.4 16.9 5.8 -71.6 77.9 16.7 5.5 -72.3
Sep-25 76.9 17.9 5.2 -71.8 79.5 12.0 8.5 -71.0
Nov-25 76.9 11.5 11.6 -65.3 77.0 12.3 10.7 -66.3
Jan-26 76.2 14.5 9.3 -67.0 75.2 17.8 7.1 -68.1
Mar-26 78.2 11.6 10.3 -67.9 76.1 16.5 7.3 -68.8
May-26 75.5 18.2 6.3 -69.2 72.7 18.9 8.4 -64.3
Jul-26 78.6 13.9 7.5 -71.1 72.2 20.3 7.5 -64.6
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
Increased Remained Same Decreased Net Response Will Increase Will Remain Same Will Decrease Net Response
Jul-25 23.7 49.4 26.8 -3.1 58.0 35.3 6.8 51.2
Sep-25 24.5 49.0 26.5 -2.1 56.3 38.8 4.9 51.4
Nov-25 24.1 49.7 26.3 -2.2 59.1 33.6 7.4 51.7
Jan-26 22.6 51.6 25.9 -3.3 57.1 37.8 5.1 52.0
Mar-26 21.6 50.2 28.2 -6.7 55.9 34.0 10.2 45.7
May-26 21.6 51.0 27.4 -5.8 51.4 36.2 12.5 38.9
Jul-26 20.9 49.5 29.6 -8.7 46.5 39.1 14.4 32.1

Table 6: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round Current Perception One year ahead Expectation
Increased Remained Same Decreased Net Response Will Increase Will Remain Same Will Decrease Net Response
Jul-25 87.0 12.3 0.7 86.3 90.9 6.3 2.9 88.0
Sep-25 88.2 10.3 1.5 86.7 87.8 11.1 1.1 86.7
Nov-25 84.5 12.5 3.0 81.5 88.8 9.3 1.9 86.9
Jan-26 82.9 16.2 0.9 82.0 89.9 8.2 1.9 88.0
Mar-26 85.0 12.4 2.7 82.3 91.0 6.3 2.7 88.3
May-26 78.2 19.0 2.8 75.4 79.7 16.7 3.7 76.0
Jul-26 80.0 17.4 2.7 77.4 80.9 15.1 4.0 76.9

Table 7: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending- Essential Items
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round Current Perception One year ahead Expectation
Increased Remained Same Decreased Net Response Will Increase Will Remain Same Will Decrease Net Response
Jul-25 86.7 11.6 1.7 85.0 92.5 4.0 3.5 89.0
Sep-25 88.0 9.4 2.7 85.3 89.1 9.4 1.5 87.7
Nov-25 84.6 12.2 3.2 81.4 88.6 9.1 2.3 86.3
Jan-26 83.8 15.1 1.2 82.6 89.3 8.5 2.2 87.2
Mar-26 85.5 11.6 2.8 82.7 90.2 7.1 2.7 87.5
May-26 83.3 14.0 2.7 80.6 83.6 12.9 3.5 80.1
Jul-26 84.5 12.6 2.9 81.6 84.8 11.6 3.7 81.1

Table 8: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending- Non-Essential Items
(Percentage responses)
Survey Round Current Perception One year ahead Expectation
Increased Remained Same Decreased Net Response Will Increase Will Remain Same Will Decrease Net Response
Jul-25 54.7 27.9 17.4 37.2 73.6 10.1 16.4 57.2
Sep-25 53.0 31.4 15.7 37.3 68.3 21.0 10.8 57.5
Nov-25 53.8 27.8 18.4 35.5 69.6 18.6 11.7 57.9
Jan-26 51.1 33.5 15.4 35.6 69.9 19.6 10.6 59.3
Mar-26 52.1 30.4 17.6 34.5 71.2 17.2 11.7 59.5
May-26 51.1 28.0 21.0 30.1 58.1 26.4 15.5 42.6
Jul-26 52.0 28.4 19.6 32.4 58.4 25.6 16.0 42.5

Table 9: Rural Consumer Confidence Indices
Survey Round Current Situation Index (CSI) Future Expectations Index (FEI)
Jul-25 100.6 127.7
Sep-25 100.9 127.9
Nov-25 100.8 128.6
Jan-26 100.5 129.3
Mar-26 98.0 125.1
May-26 95.2 119.3
Jul-26 91.7 113.6

Table 10: Current Period Median Inflation Perception of the Various Groups
  Jan-26 Mar-26 May-26 Jul-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 5.1 0.09 5.6 0.09 5.9 0.10 6.1 0.19
Gender-wise                
Male 5.1 0.10 5.6 0.12 6.1 0.17 6.4 0.25
Female 5.0 0.14 5.5 0.12 5.8 0.15 5.9 0.14
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 5.2 0.16 5.6 0.15 5.9 0.23 6.4 0.37
Self Employed 5.0 0.17 5.8 0.20 5.9 0.21 6.7 0.37
Homemakers 4.9 0.15 5.5 0.13 5.9 0.19 5.8 0.14
Retired Persons 6.3 0.52 5.6 0.59 7.0 0.48 5.9 0.41
Daily Workers 5.2 0.15 5.4 0.16 5.9 0.17 5.9 0.21
Others 5.3 0.18 5.3 0.29 6.3 0.47 6.3 0.41
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 5.0 0.17 5.3 0.16 5.9 0.17 6.1 0.27
30 to 39 years 5.0 0.14 5.7 0.16 6.1 0.25 6.1 0.32
40 to 59 years 5.0 0.14 5.6 0.12 6.1 0.21 6.2 0.27
60 years and above 5.3 0.22 5.7 0.24 5.9 0.30 6.7 0.49

Table 11: One Year Ahead Median Inflation Expectations of Various Groups
  Jan-26 Mar-26 May-26 Jul-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 6.2 0.22 6.8 0.23 7.2 0.19 7.4 0.22
Gender-wise                
Male 6.5 0.25 6.8 0.28 7.5 0.24 7.7 0.26
Female 6.1 0.29 6.6 0.30 6.6 0.33 6.9 0.33
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 6.6 0.37 6.7 0.40 7.2 0.29 7.7 0.42
Self Employed 6.0 0.29 7.0 0.47 7.2 0.32 8.1 0.33
Homemakers 6.0 0.32 6.9 0.33 6.5 0.34 6.7 0.41
Retired Persons 7.7 1.09 6.4 0.81 8.6 0.82 6.3 0.68
Daily Workers 6.6 0.40 6.7 0.35 7.0 0.33 7.1 0.33
Others 7.4 0.57 7.0 0.53 7.9 0.48 7.8 0.51
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 6.8 0.40 6.5 0.30 7.2 0.33 7.7 0.42
30 to 39 years 6.1 0.28 7.3 0.38 7.3 0.34 7.6 0.40
40 to 59 years 6.0 0.23 6.8 0.30 7.3 0.25 7.3 0.29
60 years and above 6.7 0.51 6.7 0.55 7.3 0.34 7.5 0.46

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-25 5.8 0.08 7.9 0.25
Sep-25 5.9 0.13 7.6 0.23
Nov-25 4.6 0.12 6.1 0.22
Jan-26 5.1 0.09 6.2 0.22
Mar-26 5.6 0.09 6.8 0.23
May-26 5.9 0.10 7.2 0.19
Jul-26 6.1 0.19 7.4 0.22
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-26
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
<1 562 38 56 30 15 14 2 3 3 1 9 - 1 - 1 - 5 - 740
1-<2 35 26 68 56 11 6 4 2 1 4 - - - - - - - - 213
2-<3 80 31 111 210 118 67 21 2 3 5 2 2 - 1 - 2 - - 655
3-<4 82 13 16 100 179 125 71 12 9 8 11 - - - - - 2 - 628
4-<5 126 9 17 36 132 268 103 71 94 24 41 - 4 - 1 3 1 - 930
5-<6 184 2 21 26 44 245 312 190 114 49 113 15 16 19 1 10 - - 1361
6-<7 65 1 3 3 5 7 87 128 56 36 67 13 11 3 3 2 - - 490
7-<8 44 1 2 5 4 9 4 67 143 78 81 18 26 8 10 2 8 - 510
8-<9 29 - 3 1 3 1 - 1 50 75 106 12 35 10 9 15 11 - 361
9-<10 49 - 4 2 2 4 - 2 4 70 134 34 24 15 35 22 27 - 428
10-<11 129 1 5 4 7 16 8 6 6 16 197 74 87 35 41 178 164 10 984
11-<12 9 - - - 1 1 1 - 1 - 1 8 5 8 2 8 8 4 57
12-<13 8 - 1 - - 2 - - 1 - - - 19 6 4 18 21 1 81
13-<14 - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - 6 1 9 5 4 26
14-<15 1 - 1 - - 1 1 - - - 1 - - - 8 29 5 9 56
15-<16 24 - - 1 1 2 1 - - - 3 1 - - 1 39 92 8 173
>=16 111 1 4 - 15 17 1 1 - - 27 - - - - 9 702 - 888
Total 1538 123 312 474 537 785 616 486 485 366 793 177 228 111 117 346 1051 36 8581

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 Bank’s website on June 05, 2026.

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.

4 All estimates of inflation perceptions and expectations are given in terms of median, unless stated otherwise.

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

6 ‘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.