The Reserve Bank said on July 4 that the second round of its order books, inventories, and capacity utilisation survey (OBICUS) of manufacturing enterprises has begun. The survey’s findings serve as important inputs for the formation of monetary policy. The 58th round of the OBICUS is for April – June 2022 period.
RBI will contact chosen manufacturing businesses
The RBI will contact chosen manufacturing businesses to conduct the survey, according to the central bank. Quantitative data on new orders received during the reference quarter, order backlog at the start of the quarter, pending orders at the end of the quarter, total inventories with a breakdown between finished items, and other information are among the data collected in the survey.
The level of capacity utilisation is estimated from these responses. “The survey provides valuable input for monetary policy formulation,” the RBI said.
The central bank has been conducting the OBICUS of the manufacturing sector on a quarterly basis since 2008. The RBI has also launched the 2021-22 round of its Survey on International Trade in Banking Services (ITBS).
Survey has been undertaken annually
Since 2006–2007, a survey has been undertaken annually to gather data on the financial services offered by Indian banks with international branches, subsidiaries, and joint ventures, as well as branches and subsidiaries of foreign banks with Indian operations.
