RBI launches 51st services and infrastructure survey as business sentiment stays buoyant

Reserve Bank opens new round of corporate sentiment tracking

The Reserve Bank of India has launched the 51st round of its quarterly Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey for the October-December quarter of the 2026-27 financial year. The exercise seeks direct, qualitative assessment from key companies across the services and infrastructure industries, offering a comprehensive look at current operational health and future expectations.

Covering the third quarter of the fiscal year, the survey tracks essential business parameters including overall demand conditions, financial stability, workforce expansion, and pricing structures. Beyond immediate quarterly assessments, participating firms will also share their outlook for the upcoming fourth quarter as well as preliminary projections for the first two quarters of the 2027-28 fiscal year.

Gauging momentum in core growth sectors

India's services and infrastructure sectors have consistently anchored the country's broader economic performance, bolstered by deliberate capital investment, streamlined regulatory frameworks, and resilient domestic demand. Ongoing government push toward modernizing national infrastructure—from transport corridors to digital networks—continues to generate sustained demand across enterprise value chains.

The central bank's quarterly survey provides an indispensable window into how these macroeconomic tailwinds are translating at the ground level. By tracking key indicators over a multi-quarter horizon, policymakers gain valuable early signals on corporate investment appetite, hiring capacity, and supply-chain cost dynamics.

How companies can participate

The central bank announced that M/s Genesis Management & Market Research Pvt. Ltd. has been authorized to conduct the survey on its behalf for the October-December 2026 quarter. While the agency will directly contact a selected sample of enterprise leaders, the central bank is actively encouraging other operating companies within services and infrastructure to join the process.

Firms wishing to contribute can download the official questionnaire from the survey section of the RBI website and return the authenticated completed form via email. The central bank reassured all participants that individual corporate identities will remain strictly confidential, with results published only in aggregate summary form.

Queries regarding the survey are being handled by the Division of Enterprise Surveys under the Department of Statistics and Information Management, based at the Reserve Bank's Bandra-Kurla Complex facility in Mumbai.