New Delhi: Days after the Union government’s announcement of a 7.8% real gross-domestic product (GDP) growth met with criticism over its methodology being misleading, the statistics ministry on Wednesday (September 2) defended the data, claiming that its critics’ arguments are flawed.

Several experts have pointed to the revision in nominal GDP number in the first quarter (Q1) of  financial year 2025-26, which was used as the base period for calculating this FY’s Q1 growth rate. The growth rate for this Q1 is almost a percentage point higher than the 6.9% figure same time last year.

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has accused the government of ‘manipulating’ statistical methods to mask the fact that the economy is actually slowing down. He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using international events to divert public attention from domestic issues such as rising inflation.

The Congress has also raised questions on the government’s numbers in the April-June quarter saying it presents a “Greatly Distorted Picture” of the state of India’s economy as it doesn’t convey the “depressed” investment sentiment. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government must understand that “PR can polish the picture” of the GDP but not the economy itself.

The government has said the revision was consistent with the new methodology, that the base year has changed, the use of producer price index provides more granular information, and more data is available. This, the statistics ministry reportedly said, led to the revision, which is completely kosher. 

The Q1 GDP estimate for 2025-26 was lowered from Rs 86 lakh crore to Rs 80 lakh crore as it was based on earlier series (2011-12 base year), which has now been updated to 2022-23, the government added. The government has........

© The Wire