Key economic indicators will see major revamp in early 2026
NEW DELHI: India’s economic dashboard is getting a long-overdue makeover in early 2026. From GDP and retail inflation to industrial output, several major measures of economic activity will be updated to reflect how people live, earn and spend today. A new index to track the booming services sector — from logistics to digital platforms — will also make its debut, offering a sharper picture of what drives the country’s growth.First off the block will be the GDP data, with 2022-23 prices, which will be unveiled on Feb 27 when advance estimates are released. This means that the budget-making exercise, which depends on the first advance estimates released Jan 7, will use the existing series. In Feb, the ministry of statistics and programme implementation will put out the updated retail inflation data, with 2023-24 base, measuring price rise for Jan.
And, in April, the new index of industrial production with a 2022-23 base will be released. This will be followed by the services sector index, estimating the largest component in India’s economy for the first time. The index has been in the making for close to two decades and seen to be crucial, especially as the role of new sectors, such as the digital economy and logistics, increases in everyday life.The new data line-up is seen to be the biggest upgrade in recent years with the base year set to be changed after over a decade. Currently, official estimates are based on 2011-12 prices and the consumption basket has also seen a massive change in these years, with the share of food coming down and products such as smartphones becoming mass-used items, replacing feature phones.Besides, it seeks to tackle crucial gaps in the current data, where products such as food offered through the public distribution system, do not carry any expenditure share since there is no out of pocket spend by households. The ministry is currently undertaking a revision of the consumer price index (CPI) with the objective of updating item weights, revising the consumption basket and incorporating methodological improvements to strengthen the index.
