The Prime Minister's Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal defended the Union government's change in the methodology for calculating the gross domestic product (GDP) amid allegations from the Opposition. In response, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh described the GDP numbers as 'statistical gymnastics' and alleged manipulation by the government.
Prime Minister’s Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal, in an interview with India Today on Tuesday, defended the Union government's change in the methodology for calculating the gross domestic product (GDP) amid allegations of data manipulation from the Opposition. He stated that no serious economist is questioning the credibility of the data.
On Monday, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released data showing India’s economy grew 7.8% year-on-year in the April-June quarter, higher than the Reserve Bank of India's 7% forecast. Sanyal further explained that there was a problem with the methodology to calculate GDP until the base year was updated last year.
The base year is usually updated at the beginning of each decade, but it could not be revised at the start of this decade due to the Covid-19 pandemic not reflecting normal economic conditions. According to Sanyal, they had to wait till 2024 before they could get a typical year which could be used as a base year.
The government had revised the GDP base year from 2011-’12 to 2022-’23 in February. On Tuesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh described the GDP numbers as 'statistical gymnastics' being used to hide 'India’s bleak economic reality'.
Ramesh alleged that the discrepancy between nominal and real GDP was 'manufactured' by the government, saying that it had changed the methodology for calculating the GDP twice this year. He also stated that the real growth number would be much lower.
Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told India Today that the real GDP data in the new series for the first quarter of the financial year 2025-’26 was not available as it had been released based on the old series at the time. He added that the government had 'drastically revised' the gross domestic product at current prices for the first quarter of 2025-’26, resulting in a growth analysis with a 'massive, drastic reduction' in the base year’s Q1 GDP at current prices.
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