‘IMF’s grade C for GDP data quality a non-issue’

CHIEF Economic Adviser (CEA) to the government V Anantha Nageswaran has said that India need not be worried about the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual review that assigned a ‘C’ grade to the country’s national accounts statistics.

- PUSHPITA DEY @New Delhi

In a report released on November 27, the IMF graded India’s national accounts — including Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA) — as ‘C’, the second-lowest classification in its framework.

Speaking at the 30th edition of the Delhi Dialogues, the CEA clarified that the grading should not be viewed as alarming. He pointed out that the IMF only introduced the letter-grade system for its statistical assessments in 2024, and India has received the same rating for both 2024 and 2025.

“The median rating for India, which includes national accounts along with other external accounts and public finance numbers, is B, not C. And the median rating for India this year also remains B,” he said.