New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the Opposition was misguiding the country’s citizens by downplaying India’s economic growth even as the country continues to be the world’s fastest growing major economy.
Speaking at the 66th Annual Session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the minister said India has stayed on course despite global turmoil, describing it as “one oasis in the desert.”
“The naysayers can say what they want… 7.8 per cent growth is a reality,” Goyal remarked.
The minister said that the Opposition was trying to “find holes” in the Centre’s economic data without knowing “how to compare apples with apples.”
“They are trying to misguide the people of India, comparing a growth rate at an old series to the growth rate in the new series, where the base year itself has changed. They are trying to find holes,” he added.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) on Wednesday refuted the claim that last year’s current GDP for Q1 has been revised down from Rs. 86 lakh crore to Rs. 80 lakh crore, to make current year’s GDP for the first quarter to look better and if this was not done, the growth would have been 2.6 per cent in current prices.
According to an FAQ issued by the Ministry, the Q1 GDP for 2026-27 has been estimated with the new series based on 2022-23 as the base year and therefore cannot be compared with the Rs 86 lakh crore figure for the Q1 of 2025-26 formed part of the old series that has 2011-12 as the base year. A valid comparison can be made only with the Rs. 80 lakh crore figure based on the new series data with 2022-23 as the base year.
The comparison of the Q1 GDP estimates needs to be understood in the context of the revisions made to the GDP series. The change in the estimate of Q1 2025-26 does not represent a downward revision made to make the current year’s growth appear higher. It reflects successive methodological and data revisions to the GDP series, the MOSPI said.
–IANS
sps/vd
