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PDF - Rural Consumer Confidence Survey ()
Date : Apr 08, 2026
Rural Consumer Confidence Survey

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of March 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 February 25 to March 10, 2026, covering 8,928 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 has worsened; the Current Situation Index (CSI)3 declined and moved into the pessimistic zone after six rounds (Chart 1; Table 9).

  2. The one-year-ahead outlook, as captured by the Future Expectations Index (FEI), has also deteriorated to 125.1, although remains firmly in optimistic zone (Chart 1; Table 9).

  3. Higher proportions of respondents in the current survey round reported rising prices and inflation for both current period and year ahead horizon (Tables 3 and 4).

  4. Households’ current inflation perception increased by 50 bps to 5.6 per cent. Moreover, their one-year ahead expectation has also rose by 60 bps to 6.8 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
Improved Remained Same Worsened Net Response Will Improve Will Remain Same Will Worsen Net Response
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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
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
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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

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
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
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

Table 9: Rural Consumer Confidence Indices
Survey Round Current Situation Index (CSI) Future Expectations Index (FEI)
Mar-25 100.1 125.9
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

Table 10: Current Period Median Inflation Perception of the Various Groups
  Sep-25 Nov-25 Jan-26 Mar-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 5.9 0.13 4.6 0.12 5.1 0.09 5.6 0.09
Gender-wise                
Male 6.0 0.18 4.4 0.15 5.1 0.10 5.6 0.12
Female 5.9 0.19 4.8 0.15 5.0 0.14 5.5 0.12
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 6.7 0.43 4.5 0.26 5.2 0.16 5.6 0.15
Self Employed 6.1 0.26 4.6 0.21 5.0 0.17 5.8 0.20
Homemakers 6 0.26 4.8 0.17 4.9 0.15 5.5 0.13
Retired Persons 6 0.65 4.9 0.37 6.3 0.52 5.6 0.59
Daily Workers 5.9 0.22 4.5 0.26 5.2 0.15 5.4 0.16
Others 5.7 0.20 4.6 0.24 5.3 0.18 5.3 0.29
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 5.6 0.15 4.7 0.19 5.0 0.17 5.3 0.16
30 to 39 years 6.1 0.26 4.7 0.16 5.0 0.14 5.7 0.16
40 to 59 years 6.0 0.22 4.5 0.19 5.0 0.14 5.6 0.12
60 years and above 6.0 0.37 4.5 0.31 5.3 0.22 5.7 0.24

Table 11: One Year Ahead Median Inflation Expectations of Various Groups
  Sep-25 Nov-25 Jan-26 Mar-26
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Overall 7.6 0.23 6.1 0.22 6.2 0.22 6.8 0.23
Gender-wise                
Male 7.7 0.26 6.0 0.26 6.5 0.25 6.8 0.28
Female 7.7 0.37 6.2 0.27 6.1 0.29 6.6 0.30
Category-wise                
Salaried Employees 8.8 0.40 6.3 0.42 6.6 0.37 6.7 0.40
Self Employed 7.6 0.42 5.9 0.34 6.0 0.29 7.0 0.47
Homemakers 7.7 0.38 6.1 0.27 6.0 0.32 6.9 0.33
Retired Persons 8.0 0.77 7.1 1.09 7.7 1.09 6.4 0.81
Daily Workers 7.4 0.40 6.0 0.39 6.6 0.40 6.7 0.35
Others 8.0 0.47 6.7 0.40 7.4 0.57 7.0 0.53
Age Group-wise                
21 to 29 years 7.7 0.39 6.3 0.32 6.8 0.40 6.5 0.30
30 to 39 years 7.7 0.41 6.1 0.30 6.1 0.28 7.3 0.38
40 to 59 years 7.7 0.33 6.3 0.31 6.0 0.23 6.8 0.30
60 years and above 7.3 0.47 5.6 0.32 6.7 0.51 6.7 0.55

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
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
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
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: Mar-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
<1 626 73 71 98 57 34 6 5 4 5 10 - - - - 5 18 - 1012
1-<2 52 37 160 46 22 7 2 - - 3 1 - - - - - 1 - 331
2-<3 85 42 93 272 209 86 9 5 1 2 5 - - - - - - - 809
3-<4 90 15 27 98 202 189 74 17 11 9 7 1 - - - - 1 11 752
4-<5 122 9 17 28 138 261 210 79 61 57 19 1 1 1 3 2 2 - 1011
5-<6 215 11 15 13 45 209 177 195 113 53 230 8 6 - 4 12 4 - 1310
6-<7 66 2 1 6 5 9 89 96 64 40 56 8 11 1 - 2 3 3 462
7-<8 51 6 3 1 7 12 7 58 83 64 78 20 25 9 4 5 1 3 437
8-<9 36 - 2 - 2 2 - 4 50 53 59 12 26 12 7 11 9 7 292
9-<10 55 - 5 3 11 11 - 5 15 140 111 62 39 19 77 29 48 - 630
10-<11 73 1 3 2 1 15 5 - 4 9 151 59 52 29 26 160 120 - 710
11-<12 8 - - - - 1 1 - - 1 - 15 15 5 6 14 12 - 78
12-<13 2 - - - - 2 1 1 1 - 1 - 15 9 9 11 13 - 65
13-<14 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 - 9 3 1 16
14-<15 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 7 29 22 - 61
15-<16 16 1 1 1 - 1 - - 1 - 3 - 1 - - 33 73 - 131
>=16 116 1 3 - 1 7 - - - 3 32 1 - - 1 11 614 31 821
Total 1616 198 401 568 700 846 581 465 408 439 763 187 191 88 144 333 944 56 8928

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 February 06, 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.