Is the Government Ready to Unveil New GDP, CPI, and IIP Data?

New Delhi, Feb 9 (NationPress) Following a thorough initiative aimed at improving the relevance, accuracy, and international comparability of essential data, the government plans to announce a new series of GDP, CPI, and IIP (according to a revised base year) on February 27, February 12, and May 2026, respectively, as disclosed in Parliament on Monday.

The Minister of State, Rao Inderjit Singh, stated in the Rajya Sabha that the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has undertaken a comprehensive exercise to revise the base year for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to enhance their relevance, accuracy, and international comparability.

“The base year revision for GDP, CPI, and IIP is based on guidance from respective Technical Advisory Committees, which include experts from academia, both Central and State Governments, as well as the RBI. This revision process involves methodological enhancements, the inclusion of new data sources, and weight adjustments,” the minister elaborated.

Importantly, both CPI and GDP adhere to the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS) put forth by the IMF, which includes four primary facets — Coverage, Periodicity, Timeliness; Public Access; Integrity of the disseminated data; and Quality of the disseminated data.

The government asserts that the recent statistical reforms signify a pivotal move towards greater relevance, responsiveness, and credibility.

By revising the base years for GDP, CPI, and IIP, bolstering the measurement of the informal and service sectors, and reforming labour statistics, the government has better aligned official data with the current economic structure and dynamics.

Additionally, numerous measures have been initiated to markedly enhance data quality, timeliness, and public accessibility. The synchronized launch of these new series and systems underscores a commitment to methodological rigor, international best practices, transparency, and stakeholder engagement, as stated.

In line with these initiatives, the base year for GDP estimates has been updated to 2022-23 to reflect new economic structures, while the CPI base year has been changed to 2024, adjusting the consumption basket and weights for both rural and urban households. Furthermore, the IIP is being revised to 2022-23, in sync with the new national accounts series.

The official statement asserts that these initiatives lay a more robust statistical foundation for evidence-based policymaking, effective decentralized planning, and informed public discourse, ensuring that India’s official statistics remain relevant in a rapidly changing economic landscape.