The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the July 2026 round of three major household surveys to assess consumer confidence, inflation expectations and employment trends across the country. The findings from these surveys will help the central bank evaluate economic conditions and support future monetary policy decisions.
In separate press releases issued on Thursday, the RBI announced the commencement of the Urban Consumer Confidence Survey (UCCS), the Rural Consumer Confidence Survey (RCCS) and the Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH).
Urban Consumer Confidence Survey
The Urban Consumer Confidence Survey seeks qualitative responses from households on their assessment of the economy and their expectations for the future.
According to the RBI, the survey captures public sentiment on:
- General economic conditions
- Employment prospects
- Price levels
- Household income
- Household spending
The survey is being conducted across 19 cities, and the RBI said its findings will provide valuable inputs for monetary policy.
Inflation Expectations Survey
The RBI has also launched the latest round of the Inflation Expectations Survey of Households across the same 19 cities. The survey aims to understand how households perceive current inflation and how they expect prices to change over the coming months based on their own consumption patterns.
Participants will provide qualitative responses on expected price movements for general inflation and specific product categories over the next three months and one year.
The survey also collects quantitative estimates of:
- Current inflation
- Inflation expected over the next three months
- Inflation expected over the next one year
According to the RBI, the results will help policymakers better understand public inflation expectations, an important factor in monetary policy decisions.
Rural Consumer Confidence Survey
Alongside the urban surveys, the RBI has begun the July round of the Rural Consumer Confidence Survey, which covers households across 31 states and Union Territories. The survey gathers information on both current perceptions and one-year-ahead expectations relating to:
- Overall economic conditions
- Employment
- Price levels
- Household income
- Spending patterns
The central bank said the survey findings will also serve as an important input in shaping monetary policy.
Public Participation
The RBI said the surveys will be carried out through agencies appointed by the central bank. Selected households will be contacted directly to participate. Individuals who are not approached by the survey agencies can also take part by submitting their responses through the online survey forms made available by the RBI.
