MoSPI's New GDP Series (Base 2022-23) Shows Farm Sector 5% Larger, Manufacturing Growth Averaging 11.2% Due to ASUSE and PLFS Data

MoSPI Defends New GDP Series as Q1 Growth Hits 7.8%, Base Year Revised to 2022-23

MoSPI Secretary Saurabh Garg defends the new GDP series (base year 2022-23) amid criticism over downward revision of past GDP data. Q1 2026-27 growth at 7.8% surprised economists. Garg says the new series uses better data sources like GST, PLFS, ASUSE, and digital data (e-Vahan, PFMS), making it the best so far. The debate is 'unnecessary' as methods were already public months ago.

MoSPI: Better Informal Sector Data via ASUSE & PLFS Drives Downward Revision in Nominal GDP

India's new GDP series (base 2022-23) shows lower nominal GDP for past years, primarily because direct annual surveys (ASUSE, PLFS) now replace proxy-based estimates for the informal sector. This is a data quality improvement, not an economic slowdown — a critical distinction for exam questions on GDP measurement and methodology.

MoSPI Defends 7.8% GDP Growth Amid Criticism, Cites Base Year Change to 2022-23

MoSPI issued a six-point rebuttal defending the 7.8% GDP growth for Q1 FY26, clarifying that data revisions stem from the base year change (2011-12 to 2022-23) and updated indices (PPI, IIP). The ministry refuted claims of manipulation, emphasizing that comparing old and new series is invalid.

India's Q1 GDP Growth 7.8%: MoSPI Refutes Ex-Finance Secretary's Base Year Manipulation Claim

India's Q1 FY26 GDP grew 7.8% real and 10.3% nominal, but former Finance Secretary S C Garg alleged data manipulation due to base year change. The article clarifies that his calculation is methodologically flawed and explains the importance of base year revisions.

GI Tag System Reform: 724 GIs Registered, Only 42% Have Authorised Users, 40 Million Kg Counterfeit Tea

India's GI tag system is deeply flawed: only 42% of 724 registered GIs have authorised users, 40 million kg counterfeit Darjeeling tea is sold globally, and farmers receive barely 10-15% of the premium. The article highlights bureaucratic delays, judicial gridlock after IPAB abolition, and enforcement gaps, calling for a state-led enforcement model similar to the EU.

Centre Imposes Stockholding Limit on Sugar, Allows Duty-Free Import of 10 Lakh MT to Curb Price Surge

To curb a sharp 15% spike in sugar prices ahead of the festive season, the Centre has imposed a 15-day stockholding limit on bulk consumers (using >10 MT/month) and allowed duty-free import of 10 lakh MT of raw sugar until October 31, 2026. The move invokes the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and involves both the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce.

MoSPI Considers Diary-Based HCES for High-Income Households to Tackle 9.8% Urban Non-Response Rate

To counter rising non-response from affluent households in gated societies, MoSPI is piloting a 'diary-based' self-reporting method for the next Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) in 2027-28. This shift is critical because the HCES data directly impacts CPI basket weights, inflation targeting by RBI, and policy making, but raises concerns about data comparability due to differential recall errors between survey methods.

Manufacturing GVA: NSO's ₹38.6 Lakh Cr Estimate vs ASI-ASUSE ₹27.4 Lakh Cr Shows 40.9% Gap

The official National Accounts Statistics put manufacturing GVA at ₹38.6 lakh crore for 2023-24, but an alternative estimate using ASI and ASUSE data is only ₹27.4 lakh crore — a gap of 40.9%. Even after adding residual workers' potential output, ₹7.6 lakh crore (19.7%) remains unexplained, raising serious questions about the NSO's methodology. For exam aspirants, this is key to understanding GDP estimation, MCA-21 data use, and statistical reliability debates.