ARS Insights, August 2026. Practical research thinking for business owners, in plain language.
1. The RBI’s August decision
On 5 August 2026 the Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% with a neutral stance, by a unanimous vote. It raised its 2026-27 growth forecast to 6.7% from 6.6% and cut its inflation forecast to 5.0% from 5.1%. The RBI said activity beat expectations on healthy domestic demand, improving manufacturing and resilient private consumption, and pointed to Middle East tensions and volatile crude oil as risks.
2. Planning when rates are steady and costs are not
Why it matters: A steady interest rate helps loan planning, but an inflation forecast of 5.0% means input costs can still rise. Crude oil feeds into transport, packaging and many raw materials.
What to measure: your input cost per unit over the last six months, how much of it you passed on in price, and how your customers reacted to the last price change.
3. One question for your business this month
If your costs rose 5% next year, how much could you raise prices before customers start to leave?
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ARS Market Research Services Pvt. Ltd., Chennai. arsmrs.in
Sources: India Infoline report on the RBI policy of 5 August 2026.