New Delhi: Households across India have reported a moderation in price and inflationary pressures, according to the latest round of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) bi-monthly Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH).
The September 2025 survey showed a slowdown in expected price increases across key product categories, even as perceptions of current inflation inched slightly higher.
The RBI noted, “Households reported easing of price and inflationary pressures in major product groups, including food products, non-food products, housing, and cost of services.”
Conducted between August 28 and September 6 across 19 major cities, the survey received 6,082 responses.
The findings indicated that households’ perception of current median inflation rose marginally by 20 basis points to 7.4% compared with the previous round.
However, short-term and medium-term expectations showed a decline. Inflation expectations for the next three months fell by 20 basis points to 8.1%, while one-year-ahead expectations dropped by 30 basis points to 8.7%.
For both horizons, the proportion of respondents anticipating a rise in general prices decreased compared with the previous survey.
In product-wise assessments, 77.8% of respondents expected prices to rise over the next three months, down from 79.5% earlier. Similarly, 86.8% foresaw price increases over a one-year period, compared with 88.1% previously.
Age-wise, respondents under 25 reported the lowest perception of current inflation at 7.0%, whereas households above 60 years indicated a higher perception of 7.9%. Among cities, Kolkata recorded the highest perception of current inflation at 10.5%, followed by Mumbai at 8.5% and Delhi at 8.0%.
The RBI emphasized that the survey offers directional insights into household views on inflation, influenced by their consumption patterns, and does not necessarily reflect the central bank’s own assessment of inflation trends.
