India looks to overhaul GDP methodology ahead of 2026 revision

New series to better capture data

India is preparing for one of its most significant statistical overhauls in years as the government moves to update its GDP estimation framework ahead of the comprehensive revision scheduled for February 2026.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released a discussion paper on November 21 outlining the shape of the new methodology.

The revised GDP series will adopt 2022–23 as the new base year and draw on several datasets that were not available during the last overhaul over a decade ago. These include a refined frame of active companies, detailed filings from Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), more disclosures from corporate annual returns, and the annual survey of unincorporated enterprises.

Together, these inputs aim to strengthen estimates across institutional sectors, especially private corporations and MSME-heavy activities where data gaps have long persisted.

A key improvement is the ability to measure the turnover share of companies by specific business activity. This will allow statisticians to correctly distribute output across all operational segments of multi-activity firms, rather than attributing their entire production to a single dominant line of business.

The addition of LLP data will further plug long-standing gaps in services and professional activities.

The unincorporated sector, one of the hardest to measure segments, will also see a methodological upgrade. MoSPI plans to rely more extensively on the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Enterprises (ASUSE) and labour force surveys to better capture activity outside the corporate sector.

Construction, one of the fastest-growing components of GDP, will undergo a major recalibration. The ministry intends to adopt a modified commodity-flow approach using insights from a new pilot construction survey. This will help capture variations in material use, differences between pucca and kutcha structures, and the rising role of non-traditional building inputs.

Agriculture estimates will incorporate dynamic input–output ratios and more granular state-level information to reflect the sector’s structural changes.

On the pricing front, the revision brings a major methodological shift: the expanded use of double deflation in manufacturing. By separately deflating inputs and outputs at constant prices, the new system will align India more closely with international statistical standards and provide a sharper picture of real value-added growth. For other segments, MoSPI has decided to use single or volume extrapolation method, which the paper describes as second-best method.

MoSPI has indicated that additional papers will follow, including proposed changes to the expenditure side of GDP. The updated back series and revised national accounts are scheduled for release on February 27, 2026, alongside the second revised estimates for FY26.