The government is likely to introduce the new gross domestic product (GDP) and consumer price index (CPI) series by February 2026, an official source said.
“The statistics ministry is currently working on revision of the base years of (these two indicators), along with IIP (index of industrial production),” said the source.
FE had reported earlier that the government is mulling to introduce 2022-23 as the year for GDP and IIP, and 2024 for CPI. At present, the base year for the first two macro-indicators is 2011-12, and for CPI is 2012.
The statistics ministry has constituted a 26-member committee, known as ‘Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics’ (ACNAS), to deliberate upon the various aspects of base revision of the GDP. And for CPI, it has established a 22-member panel, known as ‘Technical Advisory Committee on Statistics of Prices and Cost of Living’.
The ACNAS is currently debating whether to choose 2023-24 or 2022-23 as the new base year of GDP, which currently is (2011-12), but the statistics ministry is of the view that 2022-23 should be the new base year.
Sources say the new base will use data from Annual Sector of Unincorporate Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2022-23, Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23, and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) to capture various aspects of the economy. “In addition, GST data is likely to be used in GDP computation,” an official told FE earlier.
For using GST data, to measure consumption activity, the statistics ministry is coordinating with the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), to develop a framework under which “anonymous information” could be exchanged between the two organisations, the sources said.