Are Congress-affiliated Commentators Undermining India's GDP Success?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- India's GDP growth rate of 7.8% is the highest in five quarters.
- Criticism from Congress-affiliated commentators highlights political tensions.
- GDP deflator provides an accurate measure of economic activity.
- Low inflation impacts the relationship between real and nominal GDP.
- Recognizing economic achievements is vital for public confidence.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (NationPress) Celebrating India's impressive GDP figures, BJP leader Amit Malviya criticized the misleading narratives propagated by Congress-associated commentators, labeling the nation's growth trajectory as authentic, robust, and unstoppable.
Malviya, a former banker and head of the BJP's National Information and Technology Department, shared statistics on X, stating, "India's critics have been left in disbelief by our remarkable GDP figures! A growth rate of 7.8 percent in April–June FY26 marks the fastest expansion in five quarters, demonstrating a broad momentum across agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and services."
He remarked, "The ever-pessimistic 'experts' seem unable to accept the strong growth trajectory of our economy and are disseminating a false narrative that the real growth numbers are questionable."
He further questioned, "Why do these misinformed experts continuously undermine the economic achievements of our citizens? Why do they persist in casting doubts on our growth momentum?" Malviya continued, "The reality is starkly different from the false narratives propagated by Congress-associated commentators."
On X, he explained, "Transforming nominal GDP (valued at current prices) into real GDP (valued at constant prices) using an inflation indicator is a well-established global practice. This method is not exclusive to India; all statistical systems adjust nominal GDP with a suitable price index to gauge real economic activity."
Malviya clarified that a minor gap between real and nominal GDP growth merely reflects the current low-inflation climate, rather than a data irregularity.
He added, "The GDP deflator encompasses the complete range of goods and services in the economy, unlike the CPI (which focuses on household consumption) or WPI (which excludes services). Former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen has recognized the GDP deflator as possibly the most accurate measure of inflation."
Malviya concluded, "The price indices used to compute the GDP deflator have remained consistent for several years and have followed the same methodology since the UPA era. If inflation is low, the deflator will also be low. This is precisely what we observe in Q1 FY 2025-26."