{"id":67849,"date":"2026-02-28T20:28:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T14:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=67849"},"modified":"2026-02-28T21:03:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T15:33:01","slug":"new-gdp-series-fy26-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-02-2026\/new-gdp-series-fy26-growth","title":{"rendered":"New GDP Series Upgrades FY26 Growth to 7.6%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the new series, the gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to <strong>grow at 7.6% during the current fiscal.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The new series has revised downward the growth<\/strong> <strong>for 2023-24 <\/strong>to 7.2% from the 9.2% estimated in the old series, and has revised upward the growth for 2024-25 to 7.1% from the earlier estimate of 6.5%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The base year for GDP Estimates <\/strong>has been revised from <strong>2011\u201312 to 2022\u201323<\/strong> to better reflect India\u2019s evolving economic structure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The revised GDP series strengthens estimation by<strong> integrating new, improved data sources.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"add2ed\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"352\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-152.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-67850\" style=\"--dominant-color: #add2ed; width:277px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-152.png 352w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-152-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-152-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 352px) 100vw, 352px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How GDP is Calculated?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India&#8217;s GDP is calculated using two methods:<\/strong> the factor cost method and the expenditure method.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The factor cost method evaluates<\/strong> performance across eight industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, and financial services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The expenditure method examines <\/strong>spending in areas like household consumption and government costs to assess economic performance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Central Statistics Office under India&#8217;s Ministry of Statistics and Program <\/strong>Implementation manages GDP data collection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India&#8217;s GDP data is<strong> released quarterly<\/strong> with a two-month lag and annually on May 31.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Contribution of Sectors:<\/strong> The largest contributor to India&#8217;s GDP is the services sector, which accounts for 61.5% of GDP.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The next largest contributor was the industrial sector (23%) and then the agriculture sector (15.4%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Base Year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A base year is a <strong>benchmark year <\/strong>used for<strong> comparison in economic and statistical calculations.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It provides a<strong> reference point<\/strong> against which <strong>current values of indicators like GDP, CPI, and IIP are measured<\/strong> to track real changes over time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance:&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It allows us to<strong> remove the effect of inflation<\/strong> and see real growth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensures that the <strong>data reflects the current structure of the economy,<\/strong> consumption patterns, and prices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"a9c1d0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"754\" height=\"513\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-153.png\" alt=\"base year\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-67852\" style=\"--dominant-color: #a9c1d0; width:424px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-153.png 754w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-153-300x204.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 754px) 100vw, 754px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Economic Datasets for Calculation of GDP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Gross Domestic Product (GDP): <\/strong>GDP is the <strong>total monetary value of all final goods and services<\/strong> produced within a <strong>country&#8217;s domestic territory <\/strong>during a <strong>specific period (usually a quarter or a year).<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is calculated by <strong>adding up all the expenditures<\/strong> made in the economy, including <strong>expenditures by Indians in their individual capacity, expenditures by governments, expenditures by private businesses, etc.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This provides a picture of the <strong>demand side of the economy.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Released By:<\/strong> National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Index of Industrial Production (IIP):<\/strong> IIP measures the <strong>volume of production<\/strong> in the <strong>industrial sector, <\/strong>including mining, manufacturing, and electricity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a volume-based index, not value-based like GDP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indicates industrial activity, helping assess the short-term economic momentum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Released By: <\/strong>NSO, MoSPI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Consumer Price Index (CPI): <\/strong>CPI measures the<strong> average change in prices<\/strong> paid by <strong>consumers for a basket of goods and services <\/strong>over time i.e., it tracks retail inflation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tracks cost of living and purchasing power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Includes items like food, housing, clothing, transport, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Released By: <\/strong>NSO, MoSPI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns with India\u2019s Statistical Architecture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>GDP Methodology System: <\/strong>India\u2019s GDP calculation method is globally accepted but the real problem is weak and outdated supporting statistical systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Manufacturing Data Distortion:<\/strong> Corporate manufacturing is measured well and is performing strongly but Informal manufacturing is poorly measured causing discrepancy in data.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Growing GDP Discrepancies:<\/strong> The gap between production-side and expenditure-side data in GDP is widening. It is caused by uneven data quality and outdated weights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gap in GVA and IIP: <\/strong>IIP tracks physical output, not value added; this divergence reflects measurement limits, not economic slowdown.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>IMF Rating Paradox: <\/strong>India scores well on GDP methods but poorly on overall statistical quality. It shows the gap between good methodology and weak data ecosystem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Need for Statistical Modernisation:<\/strong> The economy has evolved faster than its statistical tools, the current system cannot fully capture structural change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2026 Base-Year Revision as an Opportunity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shift away from commodity-flow approach: <\/strong>It will move away from the <strong>commodity-flow method<\/strong> for estimating consumption across most items.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Under the earlier framework, <strong>fixed ratios derived from a 2011\u201312 study<\/strong> were used to allocate commodities between intermediate consumption, final consumption and other uses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The revised system instead <strong>uses dynamic rates and ratios,<\/strong> allowing estimates to evolve over time as consumption patterns change.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Elimination of \u2018Discrepancies\u2019: <\/strong>MoSPI plans to integrate<strong> Supply and Use Tables (SUTs)<\/strong> directly into annual GDP compilation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Supply and use tables show how different goods and services are supplied by domestic industries and imports and how they are distributed between different intermediate or final uses, including exports.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This approach aims to limit discrepancies in early estimates and fully eliminate them in final estimates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use of Digital and Administrative Data: <\/strong>Increased reliance on datasets such as;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>e-Vahan (vehicle registrations).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>GST and other administrative records.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Updated Surveys as Data Backbone: <\/strong>Key surveys feeding into the new series include;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Household Consumption Expenditure Survey <\/strong>(HCES) 2022\u201323 and 2023\u201324.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Updated surveys of formal and informal enterprises.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These are expected to offer more granular insights into consumption behaviour and production activity than earlier benchmarks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sectoral Coverage of Revised Framework: <\/strong>The revised quarterly compilation framework has been aligned more closely with the Annual National Accounts methodology in terms of sectoral classification, deflation strategies, and estimation practices.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Inclusion of Hired Domestic Workers in GDP Estimation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The new series includes unincorporated enterprises, self-employed individuals and informal workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Do You Know?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India compiles its GDP estimates in line with the <strong>2008 System of National Accounts (SNA 2008).<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is the internationally accepted statistical framework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With the United Nations Statistical Division<strong>transitioning to SNA 2025-<\/strong> expected to be adopted globally around 2029\u201330- India intends to align with the updated standard in its next base year revision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The revision of the GDP base year to 2022\u201323 marks a significant step in<strong> aligning India\u2019s national accounts with the realities of a rapidly transforming economy.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The new series provides a <strong>more accurate, consistent and comprehensive measure of economic activity.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By updating the base year, and eliminating discrepancies the new framework is better aligned with the <strong>realities of a rapidly formalising and digitising economy.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/Economy\/india-gdp-growth-q3-fy26-economy-new-data-series-govt\/article70683802.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> According to the new series, the gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to grow at 7.6% during the current fiscal. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The new series has revised downward the growth for 2023-24 to 7.2% from the 9.2% estimated in the old series, and has revised upward the growth for 2024-25 to 7.1% from the earlier estimate of 6.5%. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The base year for GDP Estimates has been revised from 2011\u201312 to 2022\u201323 to better reflect India\u2019s evolving economic structure. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The revised GDP series strengthens estimation by integrating new, improved data sources. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-02-2026\/new-gdp-series-fy26-growth \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67849"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67887,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67849\/revisions\/67887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}