Only 24% or 1 out of every 5 Indians expect their household income to rise in 2025, a survey released on Tuesday showed.
The survey by LocalCircles, based on the responses of 16,111 persons, also revealed that as much as 48% of households expect their earnings to drop by up to 25% in the new year.
Asked about their household savings in 2025, only 27% said that they expect their savings to increase. On the other hand, 45% of households surveyed expect up to a 25% decline in savings this calendar year.
“As households across the country grapple with this massive squeeze, the Union Budget 2025 must consider some serious interventions that will assist them,” LocalCircles said in the report.
A lack of income growth in most households, along with consistently high food inflation, led to Indians reducing discretionary spending in 2024, with retailers reporting lower-than-expected growth in sales of electronics, home appliances and personal vehicles.
Indian households expect inflation to rise further while consumer confidence has taken a knock due to a weak sentiment, showed RBI’s forward-looking surveys in November. The latest round of the RBI survey of households’ inflation expectations was conducted from November 2-11.
It showed that a somewhat larger share of respondents expects the year-ahead price and inflation to increase in the November survey compared with the September 2024 round.
Households’ median perception of current inflation rose by 30 basis points (bps) to 8.4%, compared with 8.1% in September.
Median inflation expectation for the three months’ horizon moderated marginally by 10 bps to 9.1%, whereas it inched up by 10 bps to 10.1% for the one-year period ahead, the central bank said in a statement.