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

February 15, 2026 5 min read Economics GS3 (Indian Economy — Growth Development and Employment)
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What Happened

  • The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is set to release the new GDP series with the base year revised from 2011-12 to 2022-23, scheduled for 27 February 2026.
  • The MoSPI Secretary expressed confidence that the new series will resolve longstanding data quality concerns, citing significant methodological improvements.
  • Alongside GDP, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) base year has been updated to 2024 (released 12 February 2026), and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) base year revision to 2022-23 is scheduled for May 2026.
  • Key methodological reforms include integrating modern administrative data sources such as GST returns and e-Vahan records, adopting double deflation for manufacturing, and using annual unorganised sector surveys instead of relying on outdated benchmarks.
  • Plans for a new platform workers survey and income surveys were also outlined as part of MoSPI's broader data modernisation agenda.

Static Topic Bridges

GDP Base Year Revision — History and Rationale

India has revised its GDP base year seven times since independence: 1960-61, 1970-71, 1980-81, 1993-94, 1999-2000, 2004-05, and 2011-12. The United Nations recommends updating base years every five years to reflect structural changes in the economy. The current shift from 2011-12 to 2022-23 — a gap of over a decade — is intended to capture transformative changes including the rise of the digital economy, renewable energy, GST-driven formalisation, and shifts in consumption and investment patterns. Each revision updates the weight structure of sectors in GDP computation, potentially altering headline growth rates.

  • Previous revision (2015): base year changed from 2004-05 to 2011-12, introduced Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices replacing GDP at factor cost
  • 2015 revision also shifted to using MCA-21 corporate filings for private corporate sector estimates — a change that faced criticism for potentially overstating growth
  • Current revision forms a 26-member Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS) to guide the process
  • The new series is expected to reflect the economy's structural composition more accurately, including the gig economy, platform economy, and e-commerce sectors

Connection to this news: The MoSPI Secretary's assurance that the new series will "resolve data concerns" directly addresses the criticism surrounding the 2011-12 series, particularly the debates over manufacturing sector GVA methodology and informal sector estimation.

National Income Accounting — Methodology and Data Sources

India's national income is computed by the National Statistical Office (NSO), which sits under MoSPI. GDP is estimated using both the production approach (GVA by economic activity) and the expenditure approach (consumption + investment + government spending + net exports). A key methodological challenge has been estimating the unorganised sector, which accounts for nearly 45% of GVA but lacks comprehensive annual data. The 2011-12 series relied on the 2010-11 NSS enterprise survey as a benchmark, applying annual growth ratios from organised sector data — an assumption widely criticised for introducing systematic bias.

  • GDP at current prices vs constant prices: constant prices use the base year's price structure to isolate real growth from inflation
  • Single deflation (current method for most sectors): deflates gross output by a single price index — criticised for not capturing input price changes
  • Double deflation (new method for manufacturing): separately deflates output and inputs, yielding more accurate real value added
  • New data sources being integrated: GST returns (capturing formal sector transactions), e-Vahan (vehicle registration data), Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
  • Unorganised sector GVA under new series: value added per worker (from ASUSE) multiplied by total workforce (from PLFS), calculated annually

Connection to this news: The shift to double deflation and integration of GST and ASUSE data addresses two of the most significant criticisms of India's GDP statistics — the single deflation bias in manufacturing and the reliance on outdated benchmarks for the informal sector.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) — Base Year and Weight Structure

The Consumer Price Index measures changes in the price level of a weighted basket of consumer goods and services. CPI is compiled by the NSO (under MoSPI) for CPI-Combined, and by the Labour Bureau for CPI-Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) and CPI-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL). The Reserve Bank of India uses CPI-Combined for its inflation targeting framework under the amended RBI Act (Section 45ZA, Finance Act 2016), with a target of 4% (+/- 2%). CPI weights are derived from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES).

  • Previous CPI base year: 2012, with weights derived from the 2011-12 HCES (68th round)
  • New CPI base year: 2024, with weights from the HCES 2023-24 (released August 2024)
  • The new CPI series was released on 12 February 2026
  • HCES 2023-24 showed a significant shift: food expenditure share declined from 45.9% (rural) and 38.5% (urban) in 2011-12 to lower levels, while services expenditure rose
  • Updated weights will better reflect current consumption patterns, likely reducing food's weight in CPI and increasing services, housing, and transport

Connection to this news: The simultaneous revision of GDP and CPI base years ensures consistency across India's macroeconomic indicators — both will now reflect post-GST, post-pandemic economic structures, improving the reliability of inflation-growth dynamics used for monetary policy decisions.

Key Facts & Data

  • New GDP base year: 2022-23 (replacing 2011-12); release date: 27 February 2026
  • New CPI base year: 2024 (replacing 2012); released: 12 February 2026
  • New IIP base year: 2022-23 (replacing 2011-12); scheduled: May 2026
  • GDP base year revisions in India: 7 times since independence (1960-61 to 2011-12)
  • UN recommendation: base year revision every 5 years
  • New data sources: GST returns, e-Vahan, ASUSE, PLFS
  • Key methodological change: double deflation in manufacturing (replacing single deflation)
  • RBI inflation target: 4% CPI (+/- 2%), mandated by RBI Act Section 45ZA (amended by Finance Act 2016)
  • MoSPI is headed by the Secretary (Statistics and Programme Implementation); NSO is the statistical arm