Macroeconomic data overhaul reveals little change in Indian economy’s general performance

In February, India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) updated its base year for national accounts (GDP), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The updates were long-awaited; the previous base year was fiscal year 2011/12 (India’s fiscal year runs from April to March). Assumptions used when drafting figures include the structure of production and consumption, which are based on detailed assessments of base year figures. Base year updates help assure that statistical data remains relevant to current circumstances.

The new base year for estimation of GDP and IIP is FY 2022/23. The transition to a new base year lowers the estimate of economic growth in FY 2023/24 and increases subsequent economic growth. With the update, the estimate for Indian economic growth over the past four years declined by one percentage point to 24 %. The preliminary economic growth estimate for the current fiscal year (April 2025–March 2026) rises by 30 basis points to 7.7 %. Estimates based on the new base year have yet to be released for the IIP.

The new CPI base year is FY 2023/24. The updated data show that the estimate for consumer price inflation in calendar year 2025 fell by over 10 basis points to 1.2 %. January 2026 inflation was 2.7 %, which was well within the official 2–6 % target range.