RBI launches three surveys to gauge inflation and consumer confidence

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched three important surveys to understand inflation expectations and consumer confidence in the country. According to a Business Standard report, the information collected through these surveys will contribute significantly to formulating the upcoming bi-monthly monetary policy. The RBI has announced the launch of the 'Inflation Expectations Survey of Households' (IESH) for the November 2026 round. The main objective of this survey is to understand price changes based on individual consumption and the subjective assessment of inflation by the public. This study will be conducted in a total of 19 cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Additionally, the RBI has also launched the 'Urban Consumer Confidence Survey', which will be conducted across 19 cities. Through this survey, opinions will be gathered from consumers regarding the general economic situation, employment opportunities, price levels, household income, and spending. Simultaneously, the 'Rural Consumer Confidence Survey' is also being conducted for rural and semi-urban areas. This survey will be carried out across 31 states and union territories, where responses will be collected from rural households regarding the current economic situation and expectations for one year ahead.

All these surveys are conducted regularly. The results obtained from these surveys prove to be very useful for monetary policy. It is noteworthy that the next meeting of the RBI's bi-monthly monetary policy is scheduled to be held from December 2 to 4, 2026.