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Date : Aug 06, 2025
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:

  1. 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).

  2. The Future Expectations Index (FEI) showed continued improvement in the last six rounds (Chart 1; Table 9).

  3. 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).

  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).

Chart 1: Rural Consumer Confidence Indices

Note: Please see the excel file for time series data4

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 Bank’s 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 Bank’s ‘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.