GDP data with 2011-12 as new base year in January

New Delhi, Nov 2 :

Updating the system for computing the economic growth rate, the Indian government will release a new series of national accounts with 2011-12 as base year in January next year.

“The new series will better reflect the economy as it would include more sectors. However, it would be difficult to say whether there would be any significant change in growth rates for the previous years,” National Statistical Commission (NSC) chairman Pronab Sen said here.

The NSC has suggested that the base year for computing national accounts should be revised every five years.

The country’s Gross Domestic Product is currently computed with 2004-05 as the base year.

GDP data based on the new series will be released for three consecutive years from 2011-12.

“As per the revision policy of the national accounts, the estimates for the year 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, due for release in January 2015, would have been the third revised estimates, second revised and first revised estimates, respectively,” the statistics and programme implementation ministry said in a statement here.

“However, since these estimates have been compiled afresh, these would be referred to as ‘New Series’ estimates or NS,” it added.

The government will also be revising the base year for consumer price index (CPI), wholesale price index (WPI) and index of industrial production (IIP).

The new series of IIP and WPI are likely to be released by March 2016. The growth in the new series of IIP and WPI would be incorporated in the provisional estimates of 2014-15, to be released in May 2016.

The base year of national accounts is periodically updated to account for structural changes taking place in the economy.

(IANS)