RBI considering statistics to track housing development

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India is mulling putting in place a 'housing stat index survey' to record the progress in the housing sector, Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan said on Friday.

"Housing stats are something developed countries are watching very closely. It means how many houses are being built on a regular basis and we are thinking of having it in India," RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan said here.

He, however, denied that the survey was being led by any concerns regarding the booming housing sector.

"It is the index of construction activities. It is a good indicator of economic activity over a period of time. At present, no such data is available in India."

Mohan was addressing a seminar on the occasion of National Statistics Day here.

The banking regulator was also looking at technically improving the inflation expectation survey for better results.

"We are testing it," Mohan said, adding that an expert committee was looking into the issue.

The apex bank was also participating with the government to define urban Consumer Price Index (CPI) and rural CPI, he observed.