India's economy recorded a year-on-year expansion of 7.8% in the October-December quarter, the government announced on Friday, after the country’s national accounts were recompiled under a revised statistical series. That compares with 8.4% growth in the prior quarter, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).
For the full fiscal year ending in March, the NSO now anticipates the South Asian economy will have grown by 7.6%. Under the previous data series, the government had been forecasting full-year growth of 7.4%.
The government said the changes forming part of the updated series include widening the range of information sources used to compile economic data and resetting the base year to 2022-23, among other modifications. Officials described the adjustments as part of a larger effort to modernize the measurement of key indicators such as gross domestic product and inflation.
Authorities have framed the revisions as responsive to critiques that existing data practices were out of date and in need of improvement. The stated goals of the exercise are to increase the accuracy of headline statistics and to reflect a broader set of inputs in official estimates.
Summary of the changes and figures:
- Quarterly GDP: 7.8% growth in October-December year-on-year; prior quarter was 8.4%.
- Fiscal year outlook: NSO expects 7.6% growth for the year ending in March; previous series had indicated 7.4%.
- Methodology adjustments: expansion of data sources and update of base year to 2022-23, among other unspecified changes.
The NSO's announcement and the accompanying numerical revisions were presented as part of a government-led program to revamp economic statistics. The communication highlighted the intent to address criticism of older data practices and to enhance the precision of reported inflation and output measures.
The information released by the NSO provides the updated headline growth rates and a brief description of the methodological changes, but does not include additional granular detail beyond the figures and the listed procedural updates.