What Happened
- The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has revised the base year for India's Merchandise Trade Indices (MTI) from 2012–13 to 2022–23
- The revision was announced on 20 February 2026 and is effective immediately for all future trade index releases
- A DGCI&S-constituted expert committee chaired by Prof. Nachiketa Chattopadhyay (Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata) reviewed methodology, data coverage, weighting structure, and compilation practices
- The revised indices incorporate new commodities, updated trade weights reflecting structural shifts in India's export-import basket, and methodology aligned with international best practices
- The previous base year of 2012–13 had become outdated due to significant changes in India's trade composition — including the rise of electronics, pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods in the export basket
Static Topic Bridges
Index Numbers and Base Year in Official Statistics
An index number measures the relative change in a variable (price, volume, or value) between a chosen reference period (base year) and the current period. The base year is assigned the value of 100, and all subsequent periods are expressed as a ratio to this base. Periodic revision of base years is necessary to keep indices representative of current economic structures — outdated base years lead to misleading trend analysis and flawed policy conclusions.
- Current base year revisions across Indian statistics: GDP (2011-12), WPI (2011-12), IIP (2011-12), CPI (2012=100) — all due for revision
- Merchandise Trade Indices now revised to 2022-23; older base was 2012-13 (13-year gap)
- Responsible body: DGCI&S (Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics), Kolkata — under Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- International guidance: IMF Export and Import Price Index Manual guides methodology
- Committee: Expert committee under Prof. Nachiketa Chattopadhyay, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata
Connection to this news: The 2022-23 base year revision ensures that India's trade performance is measured against a more recent and representative benchmark, correcting for the structural shift in India's export basket toward higher-value goods over the past decade.
Merchandise Trade Indices: What They Measure
Merchandise (goods) trade indices comprise two sets of indicators: (1) Unit Value Indices (UVI), which measure price changes in exports and imports — analogous to price indices; and (2) Quantum/Volume Indices, which measure the actual physical change in trade flows stripped of price effects. Together, they allow analysts to decompose changes in trade value into price and volume components, compute terms of trade (ratio of export UVI to import UVI), and assess the real purchasing power of export earnings.
- Export Unit Value Index (EUVI): measures price trends in India's exported goods
- Import Unit Value Index (IUVI): measures price trends in India's imported goods
- Terms of Trade = Export UVI / Import UVI × 100 (>100 means export prices rising faster than import prices — favourable)
- Volume indices: used in National Accounts (GDP) compilation for external sector
- India's merchandise exports in FY2024-25: approximately $437 billion; imports: approximately $677 billion
Connection to this news: The revised indices will produce more accurate terms of trade estimates for India, which directly feed into external sector analysis and current account balance projections used by the RBI and Finance Ministry.
DGCI&S and India's Trade Data Architecture
The DGCI&S is India's primary agency for collection, compilation, and dissemination of foreign trade statistics. Established in 1962, it collects customs data from all Indian ports and produces monthly export-import data, trade indices, and country- and commodity-level breakdowns. Its data is the official basis for India's trade policy decisions, WTO notifications, and bilateral trade agreement monitoring.
- DGCI&S headquarters: Kolkata; functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- Key publication: Monthly Trade Statistics (basis for commerce ministry press releases)
- Feeds into: GDP computation (CSO/MOSPI), Current Account Balance (RBI), Export Target monitoring
- Other trade data producers: RBI (BoP data), DPIIT (FDI statistics), Customs (CBIC)
Connection to this news: Accurate trade indices from DGCI&S are foundational to policy — the revision ensures that export and import price and volume trends reported to the government and to international bodies like IMF and WTO reflect India's actual 21st-century trade composition.
Key Facts & Data
- New base year: 2022-23 (revised from 2012-13)
- Responsible agency: DGCI&S, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- Expert committee chair: Prof. Nachiketa Chattopadhyay, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
- India's merchandise exports FY2024-25: ~$437 billion
- India's merchandise imports FY2024-25: ~$677 billion
- Trade deficit FY2024-25: approximately $240 billion
- Purpose: Better reflect structural shifts — growth of electronics, pharma, engineering goods in export basket
- International alignment: Revised methodology aligned with IMF Export and Import Price Index Manual