Overview
- MoSPI’s national accounts release published on August 31 shows real GDP growth of 7.8% in April–June FY2026–27 and a current‑price expansion the agency reports at Rs 81.36 lakh crore.
- The Q1 numbers use a rebased series (2022–23), a new Index of Industrial Production and a Producer Price Index plus double deflation to separate input and output prices, changes officials and the IMF say should strengthen measurement.
- Former officials and opposition leaders have disputed the figures after MoSPI’s back‑series cut April–June 2025 nominal GDP from about Rs 86.1 lakh crore to Rs 80 lakh crore and sharply lowered private final consumption estimates, which critics say alters year‑on‑year comparisons.
- The IMF publicly welcomed the 7.8% outcome as evidence of resilience to the global energy‑price shock but urged continued improvement in data quality and signalled it will update India forecasts in October.
- The controversy highlights practical stakes for fiscal math and household demand because the revisions change past nominal baselines, and statisticians say full methodological detail and routine MoSPI revisions due in the normal cycle will be key to restoring confidence.