RBI group suggests survey on consumer confidence

Data pertaining to areas such as consumer confidence, business outlook for services and employment may soon be available. The Reserve Bank of India’s Working Group on Surveys has recommended these as some of the topics on which the RBI should bring out surveys.
Explaining the need for a consumer confidence survey, the group, in its report, said that changes in household confidence, personal financial situation, savings and investment intention have an impact on real activities and are, therefore, of particular relevance for policy purpose.
Similarly, a regular survey of the credit market conditions would help the RBI analyse trends and developments in credit growth. Such a survey can cover the large lenders from among the commercial banks, the report, said.
Currently, the quarterly Industrial Outlook Survey covers only the manufacturing. The group has suggested that a business outlook survey for the services sector should be conducted, initially with a focus on trading, as it would provide useful information on the demand for manufactured goods and also the overall employment situation as trading is considered to significantly contribute to employment.
In India, there is a major data gap with regard to employment.
The group has recommended that to get a perception of trends in employment opportunities, the RBI should consider conducting quick employment surveys of fresh graduates from technical institutions.
It also recommended the speeding up of the compilation of the Housing Start Index as it is an important lead indicator of economic activity. While the asset price monitoring system will present the price data on housing, the Housing Start Index will provide data on the quantity of housing, the report said.