New Delhi, July 22 -- Rural households are seeing their weakest income momentum since the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) began tracking rural economic conditions nearly two years ago, while their reliance on informal credit is on the rise, pointing to emerging financial stress.

According to the state-run lender's latest Rural Economic Conditions and Sentiments Survey (Round 12, July 2026), only 27.7% of rural households reported a rise in income from the year-ago level, marking the lowest reading since the survey began. The bi-monthly survey also showed that the incomes of 52.6% households remained unchanged over the year, the bracket's highest ever share recorded, while 19.8% reported a decline.

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