GDP base year revisions: Advisory committee may consider 2022-23 and 2023-24

The advisory committee tasked with revision of the base year for national accounts is likely to choose between the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. According to sources, the committee is likely to choose from between these two financial years as these would have the most updated data sets.
 
“Results of several surveys for these two years have been released or will soon be released,” noted a source, adding that a decision on this will be taken when the panel meets. However, updation of the base year will be a comprehensive exercise and would be time taking, the source cautioned, pointing out that the exercise took a long time even when it was done previously.   
 
At present, a base year of 2011-12 is used for all key macroeconomic statistics including the national accounts or GDP, IIP, CPI, and WPI. The new series of national accounts with a base year of 2011-12 was finalised in late 2014 and the data was published in January 2015.
 
The issues are likely to be taken up for discussion when the committee holds its first meeting. Base year revision of the consumer price index (CPI), the index of industrial production (IIP), and the wholesale price index (WPI) would be separate exercises, the source said, adding that the expert panel has not been asked to review these for now.
 
The ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) had, on June 27 this year, reconstituted the Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics with 26 members. The committee, which is chaired by Biswanath Goldar, former professor at the Institute of Economic Growth, has been mandated to review the existing data bases and advise on inclusion of new data sources for improving the estimates of National Accounts.
 
It has also been mandated to advise on the methodology for compilation and presentation of National Accounts Statistics and also advise on base year for national accounts and its alignment with other related products like WPI or the Producers Price Index (PPI), CPI, IIP.
 
The tenure of the committee has been set at five years or till the completion of next base year revision of National Accounts, whichever is later.
 
Previously, an advisory committee had recommended 2020-21 as the new base year but it was not taken up at the time. The National Statistical Commission had earlier recommended that the base year should be updated every five years.