|
Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of September 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 households residing in the rural and semi-urban areas across all Indian states and three major UTs. The survey also collates information on households' current perception and their year ahead expectation on inflation. The latest round of the survey was conducted during August 28 to September 07, 2025, covering 8,848 responses.
Highlights:
- Rural consumer confidence for the current period has improved marginally with the Current Situation Index (CSI)3 advancing further into the optimistic zone, supported by improved sentiments in most of the survey parameters (Chart 1; Tables 1, 2, 5, 6 and 9).
- The Future Expectations Index (FEI) continued to improve within the optimistic zone (Chart 1; Tables 9).
- The share of rural households expecting rise in prices and inflation over one year horizon has declined in the current round of survey (Tables 3 and 4).
- Households’ current perception of inflation inched up by 10 bps to 5.9 per cent in September 2025 as compared to the previous round. However, one year ahead inflation expectation moderated by 30 bps to 7.6 per cent in the latest survey (Table 12).
Note: Please see the excel file for time series data4
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
39.4 |
28.4 |
32.2 |
7.2 |
58.4 |
23.5 |
18.1 |
40.3 |
| Table 2: Perceptions and Expectations on Employment |
| (Percentage responses) |
| Survey Round |
Current Perception |
One year ahead Expectation |
| Improved |
Remained same |
Worsened |
Net Response |
Improve |
Remains same |
Worsen |
Net Response |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
36.0 |
33.1 |
30.9 |
5.0 |
57.0 |
26.2 |
16.7 |
40.3 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
94.4 |
3.5 |
2.2 |
-92.2 |
83.9 |
11.5 |
4.6 |
-79.3 |
| Table 4: Perceptions and Expectations on Rate of Change in Price Level (Inflation)* |
| (Percentage responses) |
| Survey Round |
Current Perception |
One year ahead Expectation |
| Price increase more than last year |
Price increase similar to last year |
Price increase less than last year |
Net Response |
Price increase more than current rate |
Price increase similar to current rate |
Price increase less than current rate |
Net Response |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
76.9 |
17.9 |
5.2 |
-71.8 |
79.5 |
12.0 |
8.5 |
-71.0 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
24.5 |
49.0 |
26.5 |
-2.1 |
56.3 |
38.8 |
4.9 |
51.4 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| May-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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| May-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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
53.0 |
31.4 |
15.7 |
37.3 |
68.3 |
21.0 |
10.8 |
57.5 |
| Table 9: Rural Consumer Confidence Indices |
| Survey Round |
Current Situation Index (CSI) |
Future Expectations Index (FEI) |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
100.9 |
127.9 |
| Table 10: Current Period Median Inflation Perception of the Various Groups |
| |
Mar-25 |
May-25 |
| Estimate |
SE |
Estimate |
SE |
| Overall |
6.6 |
0.23 |
6.3 |
0.17 |
| Gender-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Male |
6.7 |
0.27 |
6.3 |
0.17 |
| Female |
6.4 |
0.26 |
6.4 |
0.27 |
| Category-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Salaried Employees |
6.5 |
0.35 |
6.7 |
0.35 |
| Self Employed |
6.9 |
0.38 |
6.1 |
0.22 |
| Homemakers |
6.4 |
0.29 |
6.5 |
0.28 |
| Retired Persons |
7.6 |
0.83 |
6.2 |
0.50 |
| Daily Workers |
6.6 |
0.39 |
6.1 |
0.18 |
| Others |
6.1 |
0.25 |
6.4 |
0.23 |
| Age Group-wise |
|
|
|
|
| 21 to 29 years |
6.5 |
0.24 |
6.3 |
0.20 |
| 30 to 39 years |
6.8 |
0.29 |
6.3 |
0.28 |
| 40 to 59 years |
6.4 |
0.30 |
6.2 |
0.22 |
| 60 years and above |
7.2 |
0.59 |
6.1 |
0.19 |
| |
Jul-25 |
Sep-25 |
| Estimate |
SE |
Estimate |
SE |
| Overall |
5.8 |
0.08 |
5.9 |
0.13 |
| Gender-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Male |
5.8 |
0.11 |
6.0 |
0.18 |
| Female |
5.7 |
0.08 |
5.9 |
0.19 |
| Category-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Salaried Employees |
5.9 |
0.20 |
6.7 |
0.43 |
| Self Employed |
5.9 |
0.21 |
6.1 |
0.26 |
| Homemakers |
5.8 |
0.10 |
6.0 |
0.26 |
| Retired Persons |
6.7 |
0.93 |
6.0 |
0.65 |
| Daily Workers |
5.6 |
0.10 |
5.9 |
0.22 |
| Others |
5.7 |
0.11 |
5.7 |
0.20 |
| Age Group-wise |
|
|
|
|
| 21 to 29 years |
5.7 |
0.08 |
5.6 |
0.15 |
| 30 to 39 years |
5.7 |
0.09 |
6.1 |
0.26 |
| 40 to 59 years |
5.9 |
0.15 |
6.0 |
0.22 |
| 60 years and above |
6.0 |
0.27 |
6.0 |
0.37 |
| Notes: The table provides estimates and standard errors (SE) for quantitative responses. |
| Table 11: One Year Ahead Median Inflation Expectations of Various Groups |
| |
Mar-25 |
May-25 |
| Estimate |
SE |
Estimate |
SE |
| Overall |
9.3 |
0.23 |
8.9 |
0.19 |
| Gender-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Male |
9.3 |
0.29 |
8.9 |
0.24 |
| Female |
9.2 |
0.28 |
9.1 |
0.30 |
| Category-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Salaried Employees |
9.1 |
0.32 |
9.5 |
0.32 |
| Self Employed |
9.0 |
0.34 |
8.6 |
0.38 |
| Homemakers |
9.5 |
0.31 |
9.0 |
0.30 |
| Retired Persons |
9.5 |
0.79 |
8.8 |
0.59 |
| Daily Workers |
9.3 |
0.36 |
8.5 |
0.34 |
| Others |
8.8 |
0.29 |
8.7 |
0.41 |
| Age Group-wise |
|
|
|
|
| 21 to 29 years |
9.2 |
0.31 |
8.8 |
0.22 |
| 30 to 39 years |
9.0 |
0.29 |
9.2 |
0.28 |
| 40 to 59 years |
9.2 |
0.28 |
8.6 |
0.30 |
| 60 years and above |
9.8 |
0.46 |
8.3 |
0.31 |
| |
Jul-25 |
Sep-25 |
| Estimate |
SE |
Estimate |
SE |
| Overall |
7.9 |
0.25 |
7.6 |
0.23 |
| Gender-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Male |
8.0 |
0.37 |
7.7 |
0.26 |
| Female |
7.6 |
0.26 |
7.7 |
0.37 |
| Category-wise |
|
|
|
|
| Salaried Employees |
7.6 |
0.35 |
8.8 |
0.40 |
| Self Employed |
7.9 |
0.42 |
7.6 |
0.42 |
| Homemakers |
7.9 |
0.30 |
7.7 |
0.38 |
| Retired Persons |
8.9 |
1.02 |
8.0 |
0.77 |
| Daily Workers |
7.1 |
0.36 |
7.4 |
0.40 |
| Others |
7.8 |
0.42 |
8.0 |
0.47 |
| Age Group-wise |
|
|
|
|
| 21 to 29 years |
7.6 |
0.34 |
7.7 |
0.39 |
| 30 to 39 years |
7.5 |
0.34 |
7.7 |
0.41 |
| 40 to 59 years |
8.0 |
0.41 |
7.7 |
0.33 |
| 60 years and above |
8.2 |
0.67 |
7.3 |
0.47 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Sep-25 |
5.9 |
0.13 |
7.6 |
0.23 |
| 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: Sep-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 |
625 |
100 |
50 |
41 |
32 |
29 |
5 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
14 |
|
|
16 |
10 |
2 |
10 |
|
979 |
| 1-<2 |
79 |
60 |
142 |
53 |
35 |
6 |
9 |
6 |
|
4 |
2 |
2 |
|
1 |
|
12 |
|
|
411 |
| 2-<3 |
75 |
42 |
105 |
209 |
185 |
53 |
24 |
5 |
3 |
19 |
7 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
734 |
| 3-<4 |
61 |
14 |
28 |
72 |
156 |
98 |
42 |
35 |
9 |
5 |
19 |
|
|
20 |
4 |
|
2 |
|
565 |
| 4-<5 |
104 |
13 |
16 |
26 |
90 |
241 |
88 |
77 |
29 |
73 |
39 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
|
809 |
| 5-<6 |
109 |
12 |
20 |
18 |
31 |
65 |
316 |
187 |
89 |
59 |
190 |
8 |
9 |
3 |
1 |
9 |
12 |
23 |
1161 |
| 6-<7 |
38 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
19 |
16 |
71 |
122 |
101 |
61 |
58 |
22 |
15 |
11 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
574 |
| 7-<8 |
55 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
19 |
12 |
68 |
86 |
100 |
59 |
12 |
14 |
4 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
10 |
472 |
| 8-<9 |
28 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
89 |
154 |
72 |
20 |
40 |
8 |
10 |
12 |
12 |
11 |
474 |
| 9-<10 |
77 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
16 |
6 |
|
4 |
9 |
85 |
178 |
54 |
31 |
14 |
96 |
30 |
48 |
28 |
691 |
| 10-<11 |
68 |
2 |
11 |
3 |
4 |
23 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
59 |
94 |
76 |
30 |
34 |
114 |
97 |
|
634 |
| 11-<12 |
6 |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
23 |
38 |
37 |
12 |
4 |
7 |
|
132 |
| 12-<13 |
3 |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
3 |
1 |
|
27 |
53 |
3 |
13 |
14 |
|
119 |
| 13-<14 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
48 |
2 |
2 |
|
57 |
| 14-<15 |
4 |
|
|
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
2 |
|
1 |
|
18 |
53 |
18 |
|
103 |
| 15-<16 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
7 |
|
|
|
1 |
5 |
|
|
1 |
|
60 |
69 |
|
156 |
| >=16 |
110 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
3 |
|
1 |
12 |
26 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
28 |
569 |
|
777 |
| Total |
1452 |
263 |
396 |
441 |
584 |
577 |
578 |
527 |
434 |
601 |
731 |
240 |
253 |
205 |
257 |
352 |
871 |
86 |
8848 |
1The 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 August 06, 2025.
3CSI 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 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.
|
IST,
