An RBI Working Group on Surveys (Chairman: Shri Deepak Mohanty, Executive Director, RBI)  after evaluating the various surveys conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, favoured public dissemination of  survey results and identified a few new surveys to meet the information requirement for monetary policy formulation.

The key recommendations of the Group on existing and new surveys are:

Existing Surveys

• Release of the Industrial Outlook Survey results as a one-time article in the RBI Bulletin and regular releases thereafter.
  
  
• As the data quality of the Inflation Expectations Survey has stabilised, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Monetary Policy may consider placing the survey in public domain and coverage of the survey may be extended to the semi-urban and rural centres.
  
  
• As the scope and coverage of the Survey of Inventories, Order Books and Capacity Utilisation is comprehensive, timeliness of this survey be further improved and the results be placed in public domain.
  
  
• The Reserve Bank of India should expedite setting up of an asset price monitoring system to have relevant information on real estate prices.
  
  
• Compilation of the Housing Start-up Index, which is an important lead indicator of economic activity, should be expedited.
  
  
• Reviewing the Basic Statistical Returns (BSR) System which provides transaction data on banking, all publications based on BSR 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 should be brought out within a year from the reference period.

 New Surveys

• A Consumer Confidence Survey may be initiated by the Reserve Bank of India as the changes in household confidence on economic and personal financial situation have implications for real economic activity.
  
  
• Keeping in view the international experience, a Credit Conditions Survey may be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India  on a quarterly basis, covering the large lenders from among the commercial banks.

• A Business Outlook Survey for Services Sector may be conducted, initially with a focus on the trading sector. 
   
  
• Reserve Bank of India may explore the possibilities with the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) to conduct inter-decadal All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) -type thin-sample survey to assess changes in rural and urban indebtedness on a more frequent basis.

The Report has been placed on the RBI website www.rbi.org.in for wider dissemination and comments. Comments may please be sent by post to The Director, Survey Division, Department of Statistics and Information Management, Reserve Bank of India,  C-8/9 Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai- 400051 or by  fax   to 022-26571555 or may be emailed.

The Reserve Bank currently conducts the following major surveys on a quarterly basis, the results of which are used for policy purposes: (i) industrial outlook survey; (ii) inflation expectations survey of households; (iii) survey of professional forecasters; and (iv) survey of inventories, order books and capacity utilisation.

Alpana Killawala
Chief General  Manager

Press Release : 2009-2010/307