National Household Income Survey (NHIS)

Why in news?

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MosPI) said that it will launch India’s first nationwide household income survey in February 2026.

• NHIS – It will be the first-ever pan-India survey focused on measuring household income, expenditure patterns, and sources of income across rural and urban India.
• Conducted by – National Statistics Office (NSO), under the MoSPI.
• Will be Launched in – February, 2026.
• Aim – To generate direct, comparable estimates of income levels, unlike the periodic consumption and employment surveys.

Key objectives & importance

• The NHIS marks a significant shift in how the country tracks household welfare and inequality.
• Detailed income data – It will collect information on various sources of household earnings, including wages, self-employment income, property income, pensions, stipends, gratuities, remittances, income from government schemes, etc.
• It will also gather details on household expenditure patterns, capturing both food and non-food items.
• Understanding inequality – It will offer a clearer picture of income distribution across regions and social groups and crucial for analyzing household welfare and inequality.
• Informing policy – Data from the NHIS will inform evidence-based policymaking, be used for rebasing the Consumer Price Index, and aid in the preparation of National Accounts.
• Assessing technology's impact – It will specifically investigate the effect of technology adoption on household wages and earnings.
• Scope – NHIS is designed to cover the entire country, providing a comprehensive picture of total household income.

Methodology and development

• Best practices – In preparing for the NHIS, MoSPI has incorporated international best practices from countries like the US, Canada, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, and Australia.
• Expert guidance – A Technical Expert Group (TEG) was constituted under the guidance of Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla to provide guidance on finalizing the survey's concepts, definitions, and methodology.
• Pre-testing exercise – A pre-testing of the draft questionnaire was carried out in August 2025 across 15 Regional Offices of the NSO to evaluate the clarity and acceptability of the questions.

Pre-testing of data collection instruments is a standard practice in large-scale socio-economic surveys, helped NSO to refine the NHIS questionnaire and ensure that the final instrument is robust, reliable, and user-friendly.

• Public consultation – Following the pre-testing, the refined draft was uploaded to the MoSPI website for wider consultation.

References

1. PIB | National Household Income Survey (NHIS), 2026
2. Economic Times | NHIS, 2026
3. Business Line | NHIS, 2026