Finance Minister Arun Jaitley rejected criticism of GDP data.
New Delhi: Rejecting criticism of GDP numbers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the Central Statistical Office (CSO) is a professional organisation and its data is accepted by leading international oraganisations.
"We have a convention in India and a practice, which the CSO has followed throughout. I don't think the professionalism of the CSO has even been called into question."
"They are a very responsible and professional organisation. They revise their methodologies and at the end of the day various international institutions most importantly the IMF (International Monetary Fund) accepts their data," he said.
Mr Jaitley was responding to a question on a report in an international publication in which it was suggested that India's growth was 4.3 per cent if calculated on old methodology.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO), which tabulates the data on national income, has estimated the growth rate for 2015-16 at 7.6 per cent based on the new methodology.
The GDP growth was 7.1 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
"Please don't forget once you revise it with effect to a particular cut-off date, and thereafter you use the same formulation and increases would be measured in the same formulations itself."
"And I think if you actually see the extent of activities going on in India, probably this kind of analysis, of course economists are free to make an analysis, would not be a very fair comment," the finance minister said.
"We have a convention in India and a practice, which the CSO has followed throughout. I don't think the professionalism of the CSO has even been called into question."
"They are a very responsible and professional organisation. They revise their methodologies and at the end of the day various international institutions most importantly the IMF (International Monetary Fund) accepts their data," he said.
Mr Jaitley was responding to a question on a report in an international publication in which it was suggested that India's growth was 4.3 per cent if calculated on old methodology.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO), which tabulates the data on national income, has estimated the growth rate for 2015-16 at 7.6 per cent based on the new methodology.
The GDP growth was 7.1 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
"Please don't forget once you revise it with effect to a particular cut-off date, and thereafter you use the same formulation and increases would be measured in the same formulations itself."
"And I think if you actually see the extent of activities going on in India, probably this kind of analysis, of course economists are free to make an analysis, would not be a very fair comment," the finance minister said.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
