Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the results of March 2026 round of its bi-monthly Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH). The survey was conducted during February 25 to March 10, 2026, in 19 major cities, with 6,075 responses. The current median inflation perception of households inched up by 30 basis points (bps) to 7.2 per cent as compared to the previous round. Their inflation expectations for the three months and one year ahead rose by 60 bps and 20 bps to 8.5 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively. For both the short-term and one-year ahead periods, the shares of respondents anticipating a rise in general prices and inflation increased for the second consecutive round. Households expect price and inflationary pressures across most of the product groups including food product, non-food product and cost of services for both the time horizon.