MOSPI releases publication on data, methodologies for compiling new GDP series

New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday released a consolidated publication detailing the data sources, methodologies, and compilation practices adopted in India’s new series of National Accounts Statistics with base year 2022-23.

A key theme of the publication is the modernisation of estimation methodologies for the corporate, financial, government, and household sectors. In respect of the Non-Financial Private Corporate (NFPC) sector, the report highlights the detailed use of corporate filings, LLP records, and enhanced company-level information to improve industry classification, measurement of economic activity, and allocation of output across multiple business segments.

The framework follows the release of the new national accounts series with the 2022–23 base year in February 2026. The series was subsequently updated on August 31 to incorporate changes arising from the release of the revised Producer Price Index (PPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in June.

The MoSPI has followed the recommendation of expert committees on the inclusion of new and improved data sources for strengthening the compilation of National Accounts estimates. It has also held detailed consultations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on various aspects of the base year revision of GDP. Besides, it has incorporated UN-recommended methodologies, the statement said.

The data coverage for the financial sector has been substantially expanded. For the General government sector, the changes expanded to institutional coverage, refinement of the treatment of pension payments, and incorporation of the value of housing facilities provided to employees. In the household sector, after evaluating several alternative methodologies, direct estimation from two surveys of MoSPI, namely, the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), has been adopted.

The report further features significant improvements in expenditure-side estimates and quarterly GDP compilation. Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) has adopted the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018 classification framework of the UN, supported by more detailed consumption data and administrative sources. Compilation methodologies for industries, such as construction, agriculture, livestock, forestry and services, have also undergone revision to ensure greater consistency in the estimation of economic activity to reflect recent economic realities and improved data availability.

For Quarterly National Accounts, the report underlines replacement of the existing benchmarking method with the Proportional Denton approach, increased use of Goods & Services Tax (GST) and other administrative data. Overall, the report lays the methodological foundation for a more robust, transparent, and data-driven national accounting framework that better captures the evolving structure of the Indian economy. The report also includes the methodology for compilation of Supply Use Tables (SUT) and guidelines for Regional Accounts.

The publication brings together the recommendations made in the reports of expert committees already available in the public domain and presents, in a consolidated and comprehensive manner, the statistical framework and processes followed in compiling major macroeconomic aggregates in the New Series of National Accounts Statistics. These include Gross Domestic Product (GDP), National Income, Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) and Savings.

The publication is expected to serve as a comprehensive reference document for policymakers, researchers, analysts, academics and other users of National Accounts Statistics for promoting a better understanding of the National Accounts compilation framework, the MoSPI statement added.

–IANS

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