MoSPI notifies advisory panel on base year revision for national accounts

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has notified advisory panel on base year revision for national accounts. The government has established a 26-member committee to determine the base year for GDP.

This committee will also decide on aligning GDP with other indices, such as the wholesale price index (WPI) for wholesale inflation, the consumer price index (CPI) for consumer inflation, and the index of industrial production (IIP) for calculating industrial growth.

The Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS) was formed earlier this month, with Biswanath Goldar, former professor at the Institute of Economic Growth, serving as chairman.

The ministry has notified the committee's terms of reference, which include reviewing existing databases and advising on the inclusion of new data sources to improve the estimates of National Accounts.

Additionally, the committee will provide guidance on the compilation and presentation of national accounts.

“To advise on the methodology for compilation and presentation of National Accounts Statistics for purposes of economic analysis and policy including methodology for seasonal adjustment of quarterly national accounts and on the promotion of research in the field of National Accounts Statistics,” it said.

Currently, the government does not provide seasonally adjusted accounts, complicating the comparison of quarterly growth.

The committee will serve for five years or until the completion of the next base year revision, whichever is later. The previous ACNAS had recommended 2020-21 as the base year for GDP.

“For operational feasibility, the Committee may constitute Sub Committees on different aspects with a maximum tenure of two years,” it said.

The committee members include former DG of CSO, G.C. Manna, Chetan Ghate, and Mausami Das, a professor at the Delhi School of Economics.

The committee will also have representatives from the RBI, Niti Aayog, the Agricultural Ministry, GST Network, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).