Researchers at the State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday sought to debunk doubts over the latest GDP growth data.
“It is difficult to understand why some sections/people are unable to digest that the Indian economy grew by a robust 7.8 per cent,” the SBI Ecowrap said.
“In fact, past data (on old base) indicate that quarterly numbers get revised in both upward and downward directions, though mostly in upward directions. The research document added, “This is perfectly legitimate… Revisions are part and parcel of a GDP number. These revisions are aimed at incorporating more recent factors, it argued.
In this year’s release on August 31, the base year was 2022-23, hence that number was revised downwards to Rs 80 lakh crore, he noted, adding that the latest GDP numbers for this April-June stand at Rs 88.3 lakh crore. That is the basis of the 7.8 per cent growth rate.
“Last year in August, when the National Statistical Office (NSO) released the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers for the April-June quarter (for 2025-26), the base year was 2011-12, and the nominal GDP thus was Rs 86.1 lakh crore,” explained Ghosh, who is also a member of the 16th Finance Commission. He said GDP data revisions based on the base year do not always go downwards. He cited the instance from three years earlier when, “if any one of you remember, the GDP growth as per the old series was 9.2 per cent and that was brought down to 7.2”. He added, “After the Covid pandemic, India’s GDP contraction was 5.8 per cent.”
