Birgunj, January 9 :

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated a family budget survey at four wards of Birgunj municipality. This survey has been started with a view to find out income levels, income sources, purchasing power of consumers, deflation and inflation, informed NRB officials.

Customers have been slow to pr-ovide real statistics for fear that the survey is being conducted for other reasons, said Matrika Poudel, assistant director, NRB, central office.

NRB conducts such a survey in every decade to discover economic growth rate, inflation, deflation and economic indexes of the nation. NRB had conducted its first survey in the fiscal year 2030-32 BS.

NRB used to conduct the survey on family budget once a year. But this year, NRB will conduct the survey four times in Birgunj, said Pradip Adhikari, vice-director of NRB regional office and also the chief of family budget survey project. The Birgunj-based NRB will conduct the survey in six major cities, including Birgunj and Bharatpur. The family budget survey is important for a developing country like Nepal, said Bijay Sarabagi, president of Birgunj-based Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

The survey will be conducted four times within October/November, said Adhikari.