New GDP series will resolve data concerns: MoSPI secy

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

- Pragya Srivastava & Payal Bhattacharya

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 its rollout, Saurabh Garg, secretary at the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), expressed confidence that the GDP reset will address longstanding 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 will be addressed, and the ministry's priorities for the coming year. Edited excerpts from the interview:

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.