When the pandemic hit in 2020, India’s official inflation data for 17 states *vanished* for two months; not because of corruption or incompetence, but because no one was out collecting prices. No prices = no inflation numbers. Fast forward to 2026; the RBI didn’t just shrug. They turned to something unexpected: *household surveys*. People’s *feelings* about inflation became the raw material for reconstructing missing state-level data. It’s not perfect; it’s an estimate, not real data. But it’s better than silence. And here’s the kicker: their method matched national inflation within 0.13–0.22%; far better than simple guesswork. What does this mean for you? If you’re preparing for UPSC or any govt exam; this is the kind of real-world, messy, clever data problem regulators *actually* face. Textbooks don’t teach how to rebuild lost data using human perception. But life does. And if you’re researching regional policy? Now you’ve got 4 lost months back; thanks to how Delhiites, Mumbaikars, and Chennaiites *felt* about rising prices. The lesson? Sometimes, the best data isn’t collected. It’s *reconstructed*; with care, creativity, and a little bit of citizen feedback.