- India's Q1 FY27 real GDP growth was 7.8%, exceeding the 7.3% estimate
- SBI's Soumya Kanti Ghosh clarified the 2.6% growth claim used old base data
- Latest GDP for April-June is Rs 88.3 lakh crore, up from revised Rs 80.4 lakh crore
Group Chief Economic Advisor of State Bank of India Soumya Kanti Ghosh has debunked the claim that India's growth rate stands at 2.6%, stating that the calculations has been made using the old base.
India's economic growth remained resilient in the first quarter of FY27, with real GDP growth stood at 7.8%, beating the estimate of 7.3%. The growth was broadly unchanged from the 7.8% recorded in the previous quarter.
Ghosh emphasised that the correct comparison to estimate accurate GDP would be Rs 88.3 lakh crore of the latest quarter with the revised figure of Rs 80.4 lakh crore from the corresponding quarter a year ago. The misleading claims arose due the comparison of this quarter's Rs 88.3 lakh crore with the old series figure of Rs 86.1 lakh crore from the same quarter last year.
In the data released on August 31, the base year was 2022-23, therefore the number was revised downwards to Rs 80 lakh crore, he noted, adding that the latest GDP numbers for this April-June stand at Rs 88.3 lakh crore. That is the basis of the 7.8 per cent growth rate.
The SBI Group CEA's clarification comes as some analysts and former officials estimate underlying or alternative real GDP growth calculations closer to 2.6%.
Highlighting that GDP base is revised periodically, Ghosh said, "In fact, past data (on old base) indicate that quarterly numbers get revised in both upward and downward directions, though mostly in upward directions."
Ghosh, who is also a member of the 16th Finance Commission mentioned an instance from three years earlier when, "if any one of you remember, the GDP growth as per the old series was 9.2 per cent and that was brought down to 7.2". He added, "After the Covid pandemic, India's GDP contraction was 5.8 per cent."
He stressed further, "It is always fair to look into the data more rigorously and more meticulously instead of just saying this number is not correct or this should have been the number."
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