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PDF - Rural Consumer Confidence Survey ()
Date : Oct 07, 2026
Rural Consumer Confidence Survey

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of September 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 September 10-20, 2026, covering 8,799 responses in the rural and semi-urban areas across all Indian states and three major UTs.

Highlights:

  1. The Current Situation Index (CSI)3 has moderated to 90.6 with softening of sentiments in most of the survey parameters, baring spending (Chart 1; Table 9).

  2. The year ahead outlook as captured by Future Expectations Index (FEI) remained in the optimistic zone with some easing from the previous survey round to 112.8 (Chart 1; Table 9).

  3. Current inflation4 perception and year ahead expectation among rural households increased by 70 basis points (bps) and 50 bps to 6.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent, respectively, in this 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
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
Sep-26 29.9 26.2 44.0 -14.1 46.3 22.0 31.7 14.6

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
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
Sep-26 29.6 30.4 40.0 -10.5 48.1 23.8 28.1 20.0

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-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
Sep-26 93.2 6.0 0.8 -92.3 85.9 8.8 5.4 -80.5

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
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
Sep-26 82.1 9.9 7.9 -74.2 73.9 20.0 6.1 -67.8
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-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
Sep-26 20.6 48.9 30.5 -9.9 46.8 38.0 15.2 31.6

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-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
Sep-26 82.4 14.8 2.8 79.6 82.1 14.2 3.7 78.4

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-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
Sep-26 86.9 10.4 2.7 84.2 85.6 11.0 3.4 82.2

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-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
Sep-26 56.0 27.3 16.7 39.3 60.4 24.6 15.1 45.3

Table 9: Rural Consumer Confidence Indices
Survey Round Current Situation Index (CSI) Future Expectations Index (FEI)
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
Sep-26 90.6 112.8

Table 10: Current Period Median Inflation Perception of the Various Groups
  Mar-26 May-26 Jul-26 Sep-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 5.6 0.09 5.9 0.10 6.1 0.19 6.8 0.23
Gender-wise                
Male 5.6 0.12 6.1 0.17 6.4 0.25 7.3 0.27
Female 5.5 0.12 5.8 0.15 5.9 0.14 6.3 0.27
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 5.6 0.15 5.9 0.23 6.4 0.37 7.1 0.39
Self Employed 5.8 0.20 5.9 0.21 6.7 0.37 6.8 0.43
Homemakers 5.5 0.13 5.9 0.19 5.8 0.14 6.4 0.33
Retired Persons 5.6 0.59 7.0 0.48 5.9 0.41 7.6 1.02
Daily Workers 5.4 0.16 5.9 0.17 5.9 0.21 7.0 0.50
Others 5.3 0.29 6.3 0.47 6.3 0.41 6.8 0.42
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 5.3 0.16 5.9 0.17 6.1 0.27 6.4 0.33
30 to 39 years 5.7 0.16 6.1 0.25 6.1 0.32 6.9 0.36
40 to 59 years 5.6 0.12 6.1 0.21 6.2 0.27 6.7 0.35
60 years and above 5.7 0.24 5.9 0.30 6.7 0.49 7.1 0.56

Table 11: One Year Ahead Median Inflation Expectations of Various Groups
  Mar-26 May-26 Jul-26 Sep-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 6.8 0.23 7.2 0.19 7.4 0.22 7.9 0.20
Gender-wise                
Male 6.8 0.28 7.5 0.24 7.7 0.26 8.6 0.37
Female 6.6 0.30 6.6 0.33 6.9 0.33 7.2 0.23
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 6.7 0.40 7.2 0.29 7.7 0.42 8.6 0.44
Self Employed 7.0 0.47 7.2 0.32 8.1 0.33 7.9 0.36
Homemakers 6.9 0.33 6.5 0.34 6.7 0.41 7.2 0.29
Retired Persons 6.4 0.81 8.6 0.82 6.3 0.68 8.1 1.01
Daily Workers 6.7 0.35 7.0 0.33 7.1 0.33 8.4 0.55
Others 7.0 0.53 7.9 0.48 7.8 0.51 8.2 0.44
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 6.5 0.30 7.2 0.33 7.7 0.42 7.9 0.33
30 to 39 years 7.3 0.38 7.3 0.34 7.6 0.40 8.0 0.38
40 to 59 years 6.8 0.30 7.3 0.25 7.3 0.29 7.9 0.26
60 years and above 6.7 0.55 7.3 0.34 7.5 0.46 7.6 0.42

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-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
Sep-26 6.8 0.23 7.9 0.20
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-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
<1 346 16 35 48 28 40 11 22 16 21 13 2 8 - - - 4 - 610
1-<2 19 23 81 66 6 4 5 - - - - - - - - - - - 204
2-<3 72 22 68 113 125 113 42 17 4 - 15 - - - - - - 2 593
3-<4 74 8 19 77 136 198 89 20 3 6 1 - - - 1 - - 3 635
4-<5 103 8 19 15 175 188 152 88 49 18 11 - 1 - 1 - - 6 834
5-<6 183 12 15 22 22 228 268 282 101 59 100 2 3 - 1 3 - 6 1307
6-<7 66 2 5 2 6 6 125 98 50 29 56 7 19 1 2 2 - 3 479
7-<8 63 4 5 5 3 6 7 104 86 51 164 32 21 3 11 12 - 1 578
8-<9 70 - 1 3 4 5 4 2 103 33 168 33 35 19 10 15 9 3 517
9-<10 53 2 - 1 2 4 1 1 4 118 66 42 36 22 36 20 21 6 435
10-<11 149 1 5 1 2 20 2 4 7 16 172 75 99 54 34 220 241 - 1102
11-<12 7 1 1 1 - 1 - - - - - 14 9 41 6 9 5 - 95
12-<13 7 1 - - - 3 - - - - - 2 15 20 13 16 21 - 98
13-<14 2 - - - - - - - - - - - 1 3 46 8 3 1 64
14-<15 8 - - - - - - - 1 - 1 - - - 16 21 12 2 61
15-<16 33 - - 1 - 2 - 1 1 1 5 1 1 - 1 89 101 3 240
>=16 131 1 1 2 3 12 - 3 - 2 25 - - - 3 6 758 - 947
Total 1386 101 255 357 512 830 706 642 425 354 797 210 248 163 181 421 1175 36 8799

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 August 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.