Newslaundry · Ex-finance secretary questions India's GDP calculation; NDTV anchor insists on the data's ‘sanctity’
When Reuters reported that India's economy grew 7.8 percent in the April–June quarter, one reader complained that the Western press always paints India negatively. The serious challenge to the figure came instead from an Indian: Subhash Chandra Garg, a former Finance Secretary and World Bank executive director, who argued on NDTV that the number may mask weaknesses, including a fall in consumption.
The interview showed the interviewer's own bias in favor of the government. NDTV's executive editor did not want to hear Garg's criticism and accused him of undermining the “sanctity” of official statistics.
What is the real growth rate? It is hard to say. Revisions to the statistics sharply reduced the previous year's GDP, from ₹86 lakh crore to ₹80 lakh crore by Garg's account, so the growth rate looks impressive partly because the base was lowered. The government has not adequately explained the revision.
