Rural consumers economic situation improved in last 2 months, optimistic for year ahead: RBI Survey

New Delhi [India], August 7 (ANI): The economic condition of rural consumers in India has shown signs of improvement over the past two months, according to the Reserve Bank of India's latest Rural Consumer Confidence Survey (RCCS).

According to the latest survey, conducted during July 1 to 12, 2025, with 7,924 valid responses, rural consumer sentiment has improved marginally during the current period.

As per the data, 41.6 percentage of rural consumers responses stated that their economic situation has improved in the past two months, while 24 per cent noted that it remains the same. Only 34.4 percentage said that their situation has worsened. About 7.1 percentage of respondents did not offer any response.

However, while the economic situation showed improvement, employment conditions remained unchanged according to the survey data.

The Current Situation Index (CSI) has edged up slightly due to a broad-based improvement on most parameters covered in the survey.

The central bank released the results of the July 2025 round of its bi-monthly survey on Wednesday.

The survey collects views from rural and semi-urban households across all Indian states and three major Union Territories.

It captures both current perceptions (compared to a year ago) and future expectations for the next year on key indicators such as economic situation, employment, income, spending, and inflation

RBI stated "Rural consumer confidence for the current period has improved; the Current Situation Index (CSI) inched up marginally owing to broad-based improvement across major survey parameters".

Looking ahead, households expressed optimism about the future. Approximately 59.6 percentage of responses of rural consumers expect their economic condition to improve in the coming year. Meanwhile, 21.2 percentage responses highlighted that it will remain the same, and only 19.2 percentage feel it may worsen.

Consumers also shared that they expect employment opportunities and income levels to rise in the next year. However, many rural households also anticipated an increase in their spending going forward.

The Future Expectations Index (FEI) has continued to improve steadily for the sixth consecutive round, indicating rising optimism among rural consumers.

On inflation, the survey found that the households' current inflation perception declined by 50 basis points to 5.8 per cent in July 2025 compared to the previous round.

Additionally, year-ahead inflation expectations also saw a notable drop of 100 basis points, coming down to 7.9 per cent.

The share of rural households who anticipate a decline in prices and inflation for the year ahead also increased in this round.

Overall, the survey highlighted a growing sense of recovery and hope among India's rural consumers, despite challenges in employment and rising spending expectations. (ANI)

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