SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Ministry of Finance | NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)
The eighth round of the NABARD’s Rural Economic Conditions and Sentiments Survey (RECSS), covering September 2024 to November 2025, presents clear evidence of a significant and broad-based strengthening of the rural economy, driven by robust consumption, rising incomes, and moderating inflation.
Key indicators of this strong performance include:
Consumption Boom: Approximately 80% of rural households consistently reported higher consumption over the last year, a hallmark of rising prosperity. The share of monthly income spent on consumption reached 67.3%, the highest since the survey began, aided by GST rate rationalization.
Highest Income Growth: The number of rural households reporting income growth reached 42.2%, the best performance recorded across all survey rounds. Conversely, only 15.7% reported an income decline—the lowest recorded so far.
Optimism and Investment: Future outlook is exceptionally strong, with 75.9% of households expecting incomes to rise next year. This confidence translated into action, as 29.3% of households increased capital investment over the past year—the highest proportion recorded.
Formal Credit Access: Access to formal credit sources reached its highest mark, with 58.3% of households accessing only formal sources of credit, up from 48.7% in September 2024.
What is the NABARD Rural Economic Conditions and Sentiments Survey (RECSS)? RECSS is a high-frequency, bi-monthly assessment conducted by NABARD since September 2024. It captures quantitative indicators and household perceptions related to income, consumption, inflation, credit, investment, and future expectations, providing a continuous dataset for assessing rural economic shifts.
The momentum is being reinforced by key policy factors:
Welfare Support: Government transfers, such as subsidized food, electricity, and pensions, effectively supplement 10% of the average monthly income of rural households, providing essential consumption stability.
Inflation Moderation: Average inflation perception dropped to 3.77%, falling below 4% for the first time since the survey’s inception. This disinflation boosted real income and purchasing power.
Infrastructure Endorsement: Rural households expressed high satisfaction with improvements in basic infrastructure and services, including roads, education, and electricity, supporting long-term prosperity.
Policy Relevance
The survey validates the effectiveness of targeted welfare transfers and infrastructure investments (SDG 9) in translating economic growth into broad-based rural consumption and wealth creation (SDG 8). The surge in formal credit usage indicates that financial inclusion policies are successfully increasing access, though the persisting 20% share of informal credit highlights the need for further regulatory and digital penetration.
Follow the full news here: NABARD RECSS Survey