RBI Launches Concurrent Quarterly Surveys to Gauge Business Sentiment Across Industrial and Service Sectors
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) | Ministry of Finance
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched fieldwork for the 112th Round of the Quarterly Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS) and the 47th Round of the Quarterly Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS), covering Q3:2025–26 (October–December). These two concurrent surveys are forward-looking tools designed to capture the short-term business sentiment and expectations of companies in both the manufacturing and India’s growing services and infrastructure sectors. The surveys collect crucial qualitative data on key business indicators, including anticipated trends in production/turnover, order books, capacity utilization, employment outlook, and profitability.
The findings from the IOS and SIOS rounds are fundamental inputs for the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) when formulating its policy decisions.
By concurrently assessing expectations across both the productive (Industrial) and facilitative (Services & Infrastructure) segments of the economy, the RBI ensures its monetary policy framework is grounded in a holistic, real-time understanding of nationwide private sector sentiment, which is vital for managing inflation and fostering stable growth.
What is a Qualitative Business Survey? A survey (like the IOS/SIOS) that asks businesses to report on their perceptions and expectations using qualitative terms (e.g., “optimistic,” “no change,” or “worse”) regarding various business metrics. This data is converted into sentiment indices that act as a valuable forecast of economic trends.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: Given the high reliance on services and infrastructure for economic growth, how will the RBI ensure the expansion of its SIOS sample size to accurately reflect the sentiment of newly emerging, non-traditional digital and platform service sectors?
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