Business News | MoSPI Rejects Claim That Last Year's GDP Was Revised Down to Boost Q1 FY27 Growth
Get latest articles and stories on Business at LatestLY. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday rejected claims that last year's GDP estimate was revised down to make economic growth in the first quarter of FY27 appear stronger, saying the change was the result of a new base year, improved data sources and updated methodology.
New Delhi [India], September 2 (ANI): The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday rejected claims that last year's GDP estimate was revised down to make economic growth in the first quarter of FY27 appear stronger, saying the change was the result of a new base year, improved data sources and updated methodology.
The clarification came after questions were raised over the revision of GDP at current prices for Q1 FY26 from Rs 86.05 lakh crore under the earlier 2011-12 base-year series to Rs 80 lakh crore under the latest 2022-23 series.
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"The change in the estimate of Q1 2025-26 does not represent a downward revision made to make the current year's growth appear higher. It reflects successive methodological and data revisions to the GDP series," MoSPI said in an additional information note issued after the release of Q1 FY27 GDP estimates.
The ministry said the Q1 FY26 GDP estimate was initially released in August 2025 under the old 2011-12 base-year series at Rs 86.05 lakh crore. After the new GDP series with 2022-23 as the base year was introduced in February 2026, the estimate was revised to Rs 80.32 lakh crore.
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It was subsequently updated to Rs 80.44 lakh crore at the time of the provisional GDP estimates for FY26 in June this year. Following the incorporation of the new Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Producer Price Index (PPI) series, the Q1 FY26 estimate was further revised to Rs 80 lakh crore.
"Thus, the movement from Rs 86.05 lakh crore to Rs 80.00 lakh crore is the result of successive revisions to the GDP series arising from the change in base year, incorporation of improved data sources and methodologies, and updation of available indicators," the ministry said.
"It is therefore incorrect to interpret the difference as a deliberate downward revision of last year's GDP to mechanically increase the current year's growth rate," it added.
MoSPI also stressed that the Rs 86.05 lakh crore estimate under the old series cannot be directly compared with the latest Q1 FY27 GDP estimate because the two numbers have been calculated under different base-year series.
"Most importantly, the ₹86.05 lakh crore estimate from the old 2011-12 series cannot be directly compared with the current Q1 2026-27 estimate under the revised 2022-23 series," the ministry said.
It said growth rates have to be calculated using estimates from the same and latest comparable GDP series. On that basis, the Q1 FY27 GDP estimate of Rs 88.27 lakh crore should be compared with the corresponding Q1 FY26 estimate under the new series, rather than the superseded Rs 86.05 lakh crore figure.
The ministry released the additional clarification after publishing updated annual and quarterly GDP estimates based on the 2022-23 base year on August 31. The revised estimates incorporate the new PPI and Banking Services Price Index along with updated administrative data. (ANI)
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