The GDP data for Q1 of FY 2026-27, released a fortnight ago, showed India's economy grew at 7.8 per cent. This came as a big surprise to many because the number exceeded everyone’s expectations. The impressive headline number was a shot in the arm for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, which recently faced scathing student anger at Jantar Mantar and is still struggling to deal with the youth’s longstanding concerns and disappointment with the government’s administrative failure, rising unemployment, and an economic model that many believe no longer delivers on its promise.

The glowing GDP growth suggests that the government may have deftly handled the Middle East oil shock and geopolitical uncertainty. But it also sparked a major controversy over its credibility. One strand of criticism has been that the strength suggested by the GDP does not match how the economy feels. Those who have questions agree on a more fundamental problem—a lack of transparency and statistical credibility in the government’s economic data. The Congress described the GDP numbers as "statistical gymnastics" to “hide India’s bleak economic reality.” So, what explains the lack of consensus?

Questions Over Data Credibility

Over the past decade, critics say the government has “compromised” the integrity of its own data infrastructure, weaponising economic data for political gain and creating a trust deficit. Methodologies have been changed, crucial surveys and datasets have faced long delays, and inconvenient findings have been sought to suppress. What has added to the scepticism is the government’s alleged systematic efforts to hide the truth by changing methodology for many crucial datasets,........

© Free Press Journal