New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- Food continues to account for more than half of rural household consumption expenditure, with households allocating an average 53.5% of their monthly spending towards it, even as concerns over inflation gather pace, according to the latest Rural Economic Conditions and Sentiments Survey commissioned by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

The September 2026 round of the survey, published on NABARD's website on 4 November, revealed that the share of food in monthly consumption expenditure has remained within a relatively narrow range of 52.4% to 56.7% since September 2024, indicating no significant structural shift in rural household spending patterns despite seasonal fluctuations and vola...