The ‘Committee on Real Sector Statistics’ report, which calculated back series GDP data, is no longer accessible on the earlier URL of the website of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI). FE Online has learnt that the report has been moved to a different URL, with the addition of a disclaimer.
The disclaimer added in the report read: The reports are not final and the figures/estimates are also not final and should not be quoted anywhere. The reports have not been approved by National Statistical Commission or MoSPI.
The back series GDP data, calculated in the report, triggered political slugfest as it showed 10% plus GDP growth in two years of the UPA government. While the Congress claimed better governance and higher GDP growth in the UPA-era, averaging 8%, the NDA government said that the data was not official and the high growth in the 2000s was due to reforms initiated by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
The report, written by National Statistical Commission-appointed committee, was understood to have been published on the website on July 25 but came to light only last week. The report was submitted to the ministry on July 15. Initially, the findings of the report were confused as the official release by MOSPI.
However, the ministry clarified that the report was published on the website for wider consultation and was meant only to facilitate taking a decision on the appropriate approach. The report generated back series GDP data, adjusting to the new base year of 2011-12 from 2005-06, on the basis of three different methodologies.
In 2014, the base year for the calculation of the national accounts was changed to 2011-12 from 2005-06 with an aim to include more sectors in the calculation of the GDP. Since the base year changed, the data prior to 2014-15 was supposed to be adjusted accordingly.
(FE Online tried contacting the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for clarification. The story will be updated if there’s any clarification/comment from the ministry.)
