Pradnyan Dani

In February 2026, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released a comprehensive revision of India’s national accounts, shifting the base year from 2011–12 to 2022–23 alongside significant methodological reforms. This paper provides a detailed comparative analysis of the old and new GDP series, examining the 3.08% decline in nominal GDP for FY26 and tracing it to improved informal sector measurement (ASUSE), the adoption of double deflation, expanded administrative data sources (GST, LLP filings), and the introduction of Supply–Use Tables. Using implied inflation across sectors as a diagnostic, we decompose sectoral growth into contributions from better data collection and improved deflation methodology — finding that the tertiary sector experienced the most significant downward revision in nominal levels, while manufacturing saw real growth revised sharply upward from 4.5% to 9.3% in FY25, driven primarily by the shift to double deflation. Quarterly data further reveal a more optimistic trajectory for manufacturing than annual figures suggest.