Mint Interview: MoSPI chief confident new GDP series will resolve data concerns

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India is in the middle of a significant reset of its official data architecture to better reflect current economic realities. An overhaul of the inflation basket has already been completed; the next major step is recalibrating how economic activity is measured.

A new GDP series, shifting the base year to 2022-23 from 2011-12, is scheduled for release on 27 February. Ahead of the rollout, Saurabh Garg, secretary at the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), expressed confidence that the GDP reset will address long-standing data concerns. Mint spoke with Garg on a range of issues, including the rationale for the new base year, whether concerns around the MCA-21 database – a corporate affairs ministry portal where companies and LLPs file statutory and financial disclosures and which is primarily used to track unlisted firms – will be addressed, and the ministry’s priorities for the coming year.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Will the GDP revamp give comparable data and back-series updates? Will it also lead to significant expansion in the size of the economy in absolute terms? We will release revised GDP numbers with the new base year from 2022-23 onwards. That means GDP estimates for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 will be available, along with advance estimates for 2025-26. Extending the series further back by 10–20 years will take time and may be completed by the end of the year.

For comparison purposes, however, four years is sufficient. As for whether the absolute GDP numbers will rise or change, you will have to wait until 27 February. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the numbers before then.