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Date : Jun 05, 2026
Rural Consumer Confidence Survey

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of May 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 May 2-11, 2026, covering 8,813 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 weakened further; the Current Situation Index (CSI)3 declined sequentially in previous two rounds (Chart 1; Table 9).

  2. Though in the optimistic zone, the Future Expectations Index (FEI) declined to 119.3 due to worsening conditions across all parameters except price (Chart 1; Table 9).

  3. Inflation perception and year-ahead expectation for rural households increased by 30 bps and 40 bps, reaching to 5.9 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively (Chart 2; Table 12).

Chart 1 and Chart 2

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
Improved Remained Same Worsened Net Response Will Improve Will Remain Same Will Worsen Net Response
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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
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
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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

Table 9: Rural Consumer Confidence Indices
Survey Round Current Situation Index (CSI) Future Expectations Index (FEI)
May-25 100.0 126.2
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

Table 10: Current Period Median Inflation Perception of the Various Groups
  Nov-25 Jan-26 Mar-26 May-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 4.6 0.12 5.1 0.09 5.6 0.09 5.9 0.10
Gender-wise                
Male 4.4 0.15 5.1 0.10 5.6 0.12 6.1 0.17
Female 4.8 0.15 5.0 0.14 5.5 0.12 5.8 0.15
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 4.5 0.26 5.2 0.16 5.6 0.15 5.9 0.23
Self Employed 4.6 0.21 5.0 0.17 5.8 0.20 5.9 0.21
Homemakers 4.8 0.17 4.9 0.15 5.5 0.13 5.9 0.19
Retired Persons 4.9 0.37 6.3 0.52 5.6 0.59 7.0 0.48
Daily Workers 4.5 0.26 5.2 0.15 5.4 0.16 5.9 0.17
Others 4.6 0.24 5.3 0.18 5.3 0.29 6.3 0.47
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 4.7 0.19 5.0 0.17 5.3 0.16 5.9 0.17
30 to 39 years 4.7 0.16 5.0 0.14 5.7 0.16 6.1 0.25
40 to 59 years 4.5 0.19 5.0 0.14 5.6 0.12 6.1 0.21
60 years and above 4.5 0.31 5.3 0.22 5.7 0.24 5.9 0.30

Table 11: One Year Ahead Median Inflation Expectations of Various Groups
  Nov-25 Jan-26 Mar-26 May-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 6.1 0.22 6.2 0.22 6.8 0.23 7.2 0.19
Gender-wise                
Male 6.0 0.26 6.5 0.25 6.8 0.28 7.5 0.24
Female 6.2 0.27 6.1 0.29 6.6 0.30 6.6 0.33
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 6.3 0.42 6.6 0.37 6.7 0.40 7.2 0.29
Self Employed 5.9 0.34 6.0 0.29 7.0 0.47 7.2 0.32
Homemakers 6.1 0.27 6.0 0.32 6.9 0.33 6.5 0.34
Retired Persons 7.1 1.09 7.7 1.09 6.4 0.81 8.6 0.82
Daily Workers 6.0 0.39 6.6 0.40 6.7 0.35 7.0 0.33
Others 6.7 0.40 7.4 0.57 7.0 0.53 7.9 0.48
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 6.3 0.32 6.8 0.40 6.5 0.30 7.2 0.33
30 to 39 years 6.1 0.30 6.1 0.28 7.3 0.38 7.3 0.34
40 to 59 years 6.3 0.31 6.0 0.23 6.8 0.30 7.3 0.25
60 years and above 5.6 0.32 6.7 0.51 6.7 0.55 7.3 0.34

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
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
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
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: May-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
<1 465 67 70 42 32 31 17 24 27 44 - 22 - - - - - - 841
1-<2 63 45 74 33 25 5 1 - - 1 - - 1 - - - - - 248
2-<3 112 56 115 142 193 73 13 16 - 3 - 1 - - - - - - 724
3-<4 103 16 33 88 161 167 51 23 9 11 - 1 2 - - - - - 665
4-<5 136 19 32 43 156 202 160 84 49 43 - 4 1 1 - - - 3 933
5-<6 218 11 18 30 65 219 240 198 127 65 114 13 4 - 2 8 8 2 1342
6-<7 61 2 5 6 7 21 121 129 73 51 46 11 14 3 2 3 2 6 563
7-<8 59 - 5 2 8 8 10 112 100 88 150 14 15 5 11 8 1 7 603
8-<9 34 - 4 1 4 7 1 3 66 71 149 25 34 11 10 8 3 - 431
9-<10 75 5 4 5 15 12 1 7 17 178 168 55 39 10 63 36 44 1 735
10-<11 89 1 2 5 6 16 3 - 1 - 104 75 75 15 24 144 137 9 706
11-<12 5 1 - 1 - 2 - - - 1 - 8 6 2 3 3 3 1 37
12-<13 5 - - - 1 - - - - - - - 11 2 4 6 5 - 36
13-<14 - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 4 - 2 3 - 10
14-<15 7 1 - - 1 - - - - - 1 - - - 9 27 11 8 65
15-<16 14 - - - 1 2 - - - - 3 - - - 1 45 54 - 120
>=16 113 - 1 1 1 4 2 - - - 14 - - - - 3 613 2 754
Total 1559 224 363 399 677 769 620 599 469 556 749 229 202 53 129 293 884 39 8813

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 April 08, 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 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.