According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) polls published on June 5, urban consumers became more gloomy about the economy, jobs, and expenditure in May, while expert forecasters downgraded India's growth prognosis due to new indications of weaker demand and waning mood.
The Current Situation Index (CSI) dropped to 90.7 in May from 95.7 in March, according to the RBI's Urban Consumer Confidence Survey (UCCS), which revealed a decline in consumer confidence for the current period for the third consecutive round.
Additionally, the Future Expectations Index (FEI) fell to its lowest point since September 2023, from 120.2 to 118.7. 6,086 people participated in the poll, which was carried out in 19 cities between May 2 and May 11.

"Consumer confidence for the current period declined for the third successive round with the Current Situation Index (CSI) going down to 90.7 from 95.7 in the previous round," RBI reported. The FEI "dropped by 1.5 points to 118.7 which is the lowest since September 2023," it continued, and optimism for the upcoming year waned.
The results coincide with the RBI's 100th Survey of Professional Forecasters, which reduced India's real GDP growth estimate for 2026–2027 from 6.9% to 6.5% due to increased economic pessimism.

Inflation remained a major concern. According to the survey, 91.6% of respondents said prices had increased over the past year, up from 89.1% in March. More households also felt the pace of price increases had accelerated, with the net response on inflation worsening to minus 77.1 from minus 72.2.Perceptions of income increase also declined. One-year-ahead income expectations decreased to 47.1 from 48.4, while the net response on current income dropped to 0.9 from 3.0 in March.

Additionally, consumer spending stalled. Future expenditure expectations dropped to 76.6 from 81.2, while the net response on overall spending softened to 74.0 from 78.4. The deterioration, according to the RBI, was "primarily driven by ebbed sentiment on discretionary expenditure."
Interestingly, attitudes toward non-essential spending shifted to the negative. The net reaction on current discretionary expenditure decreased from positive 0.8 in March to minus 0.8 in May, indicating that households are growing more frugal when making purchases outside of necessities. On the other hand, spending on necessities held steady.

Even as experts become increasingly concerned about India's development prospects, the RBI polls show that consumers are nonetheless upbeat about the coming year despite worries about inflation, job, and income.